Cut the Ropes
by LazyWerewolf
Summary: Hundreds of years ago, they were mercilessly hunted down by their mortal enemies. But while the victors celebrated the past, the victims reshaped the future. Isabella Swan unwillingly became part of the new generation of monsters. Rated M for language.
1. Prologue

**Title: Cut the Ropes**

**Author:** LazyWerewolf

**Disclaimer: See chapter 11**

A/N: For those of us who are new here, this is a Bellice Adventure & Supernatural fic, which means that romance, while prominent, will not be the main attraction here. For those of you that already know this fic, welcome back :P In this fic, Bella is not gay. So if you're looking for a fic where Bella/Alice/both are gay and single, you'll have to look somewhere else. Sorry :/ This fic starts off after New Moon, and then goes very very AU from there.

Thanks for picking this fic :P See you at teh bahtom.

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**Prologue**

All opinions are based on comparisons.

If you were born and raised in a world of comfort, then you cannot say that you are comfortable. Likewise, if you were born and raised in torment, you cannot state that you are in torment.

However, if you lived in a life of semi-luxury, and were thrown into a life of pain, you could say that you're in pain. But that doesn't help much, does it?

A few steps forward, then a sheer drop.

_My name is Isabella Marie Swan._

_I am the bastard child of your worst nightmare and a taser._

_Bitter, angry, torn up and bloodied._

_Remember the old man that told you to let sleeping dogs lie? You should have listened._

The transformation into one of us is an extremely long and complicated process, and the reason is that we're not like those pathetic Skinwalker Quileutes. We are real, bloody werewolves, and life—well, death— isn't easy when you enter immortality without a clue of what you are, where you are, and what the hell you're doing stark naked on a sand dune in Arizona with a fucking canyon around six feet away from where you were passed out. In few words, life sucks for me and for anyone else who decided to not let the fucking werewolf lay.

It all starts with a bite: That's how it started for me. I remember it in perfect clarity. First comes the excruciating pain from the actual bite: we have jaws bigger than an alligators and ten times as strong. We like to go for the neck, because it's just so appealing. What else are you gonna go for? We can probably sink our teeth into your stomach, and then you'd probably be gutted, but personally I don't like gut. I prefer neck. Same thing with animals too: our jaws are so strong that we could probably bite through an elephant, but they would probably shit on us or something like that. The point is that it rips through your body and leaves its spit inside your bloodstream.

I remember very clearly how the head of that fucking coven described us. He talked about how the saliva is so toxic that it causes chemical changes in your brain that cause you to shapeshift, or control how your body is arranged or something like that. He said that the chemical reaction is similar to the Skinwalkers', that it causes you to rearrange your body into the first thing you see after being bitten. But unlike the Quileutes' changes, our venom is much more volatile and dangerous. The change happens much slower, and is just as painful as it looks. No, maybe a few times as painful.

The change begins at the limbs, where the major bones are grown-slowly I might add- and the joints and plates like the kneecaps and elbows are broken, and then regrown in a different shape. The muscles in the limbs are stretched and filled in. Then the venom attacks your shoulders and hips, crushing them and rearranging them. The rest of the torso is only made bigger, and the ribs are rearranged. The head comes last. Your neck muscles are reinforced, and then your jaw and nose stretch out slowly, creating a snout. The ears are stretched out like cartilage, making them very thin, but then they are covered in another layer of skin. Hair comes next: your entire body is covered in small, individual hairs that grow very rapidly. Each hair feels like a pin prick; it doesn't seem like a lot of pain, but multiply it by millions and you have yourself the equivalent of being run over by a train.

Sounds gruesome, doesn't it? It is. But don't worry, just stick to your boring, suburban life and it'll never happen to you. Even though I stuck to my boring, suburban life and it happened to me anyway. But I was a lost case since the stupid Olympic coven came around.

When you come out of the transformation, you're dazed, and you don't know where you are. Transformations like these last around two hours. You usually come out of your little were-stage naked and confused, much like I am now.

The Arizona desert is dry, cold and dark. The blood has created a lake around my head, and the wounds on my chest and legs are gaping wide, searing with pain from the sand burrowing itself into my cuts. But nothing compares to the pain of seeing a small head about six feet away from me. It has dark spiky hair and holds features that would be considered angelic, were it not for the missing body. Her hair was caked to the side of her face with something that resembled water while her eyes were wide open staring into space. I choked a sob, which resulted in more tumultuous waves of pain. The rest of her body was scattered around her, and the moonlight caused her stone skin to glow. I saw the small particles of sand dance in circles around her. When I tried to slowly lift my head, I was greeted with a deafening crack from my neck, and my head fell back fast. I stared blankly into the sky ahead of me. I didn't have enough time to answer myself before my eyes fluttered shut, and my body decided to leave me alone, in the middle of the Arizonan desert at midnight with a ripped up vampire not two yards away. The insides of my eyelids were a thousand different colors, with shapes ranging from strange fish, worms, and random shapes. _What the fuck is up with that duck? Is it growing a third arm? It had arms in the first place?_ Not that it mattered much.

_Remember that old man that told you to let the sleeping dog lie?_

_I didn't listen._

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**A/N:** Tweaked the prologue a bit. Much more appealing now. Drop me a review, I like those :P thanks for reading. Check my bio for the tumblr of this fic, along with a couple of amazing authors and stories to keep you entertained if this story doesn't cut it for you. (haha get it? CUT it for you? like the title? of the story? Like the- FUCK YOU GUYS, MY MOM SAYS I'M FUNNY...) Lol, jk.

Cheers,

The Lazy Werewolf


	2. Reservation

**Title:** Cut the Ropes

**Author:** LazyWerewolf

**DISCLAIMER:** All disclaimers for the rest of the story refer to this chapter. I do not own Twilight and this story isn't meant to take credit for it. No copyright infringement was attempted. Twilight is the sole property of Stephanie Meyer. I also don't own any of the songs used for chapter titles.

**A/N:** Damn. Looks like I forgot to mention a few things. The vampire was Alice. The last chapter was a small prologue, and that's why it started in the middle of fucking nothin :) reviews like that make me want to write faster so maybe I can yell at you through my stories. But seriously reviews rock your reviews actually got me somewhere! (NTS: make chapter names bigger) And unless someone wants to write smut for me, Im gonna leave that out, mainly because I suck at lemons. I will totally put smut in the story, don't get me wrong, I just can't write it. These next few chapters are about Bella's life after the Cullens leave, and how she tackles immortality through the Quileutes.

If you're gonna leave a "Good story-Update faster" go drown your ineptitude in a bucket, but don't read Twilight again. The ineptitude has to stay out of your head.

**Reservation**

I could hear voices as I chased after him. They were yelling, almost as though they were angry at me. I didn't do what they thought... They left me!

He took a sharp turn to the left, but the forest never wavered, not once. The trees never stooped looming over you, and they never stopped mocking you. I was really surprised I could run this long without...

And there it was. My face hit the ground as I tripped on a root.

"Bella..."

The voice made me get up and turn my head sharply to the left.

"Bella, love... We have to leave..."

"_Where are we going? I can't just leave Charlie!"_

"Bella... Only my family and I are leaving..."

"_No... NO EDWARD DON'T!"_

I took a sharp intake of air and ran after him. If you looked closely, you could still see his bronze hair fluttering as the forest darkened around me.

"Bella..."

"Bella..."

"**BELLA**! GODDAMNIT IT'S FIVE IN THE AFTERNOON!"

My eyes suddenly opened and I looked up to see a very angry Charlie hunched over my bed, looking worried and ready to take me to the hospital.

"Mmmmhmmm?" My throat felt dry.

Charlie's jaw fell. "Bella, you haven't spoken in more than a day. I know you're upset that they left," He paused when I flinched at the mention, "but when will you learn to get over things? It's been more than a year, Bella. Please, Get back to normal."

He took a deep breath before he continued. "I'll be downstairs. It's almost time for dinner. Do you want me to get breakfast, or do you just want to wait for the take-out? "

I rubbed my eyes with my hands. "I'll wait." Simple, two word answers that get my point across. That was my thing.

He reluctantly left the room. I pushed myself up on my hands to take in the outdoors through the windows. Cloudy and raining. Great excuse to stay at home and do nothing.

After getting up, I made my way to the bathroom to do my business. I took in my face in the bathroom mirror. Purple bags clung to the bottom of my eyes, and the edges of said eyes were bloodshot. My hair was a mess, and I felt like a pro boxer hit my head with an uppercut. Migraine. Again. I didn't bother getting dressed because either way I would stay home all day.

Coming down the stairs I saw Charlie at the kitchen table while the TV in the living room spouted out news. He looked up at me, hesitating before speaking.

"That's the fifth murder this month." He looked like he wanted a response. I didn't give him one.

"There's been almost a dozen cases of manslaughter this month. I'm almost at the station 're always in the woods. Looks like whoever's doing it is targeting lone hikers." _No wonder he always looked so tired._

"The bodies are always ripped, bloody and look like something just took a bite out of them. It's like a huge animal just...Slaughtered these people." He noticed that it clearly didn't get my attention.

"Bella... I want you to go down to the reservation today." This, however, caught my attention.

With some effort, I managed to create a coherent response. I had a daily quota of less than two dozen words a day. "...Why?"

He breathed loudly through his nose. "Remember Jake? Well, he's been wanting to see you. You know, you could at least try to be happy, or try to talk more often. He really misses you. Billy called just to say that Jake wants to talk to you. We're all worried." It was noticeable that long, emotional talks do a severe toll on him.

"I don't want to. I'm fine here." _How many was that? Eleven words total?_

His voice raised. "No, Bella. You're going to see Jake. Don't argue. Today. I'm stressing how much Jake-"

He was cut off by the doorbell. I used it as my chance to escape from this conversation, which seemed to be triggered by more than three days without speaking.

When I opened the door, I was greeted by someone I really didn't expect, or want to see.

"Oh, hey Bella!" Eric's features lit up upon opening the door. "Here's your food. Free egg roll for my favorite person ever!" His smile seemed to get wider when I took the food, and also offered him a decent response.

"Thanks, Eric."

"'Kay, that'll be nine forty-two, please." I handed him the money and gave a forced smile. He became ecstatic.

"Oh my god, Bella, you just smiled!"

"Yeah, I know... It hurt." He laughed.

"I'll see you around, alright?"

"Bye." _Right, like you would want to see me._ Now I was definitely over my limit. I knew that was a lot more than twenty four words. Damnit. I took a few steps into the house again. Charlie seemed happier than he had been in a long time.

"Now how hard was that?" A smile appeared on his face. He seemed proud.

We had dinner. Little to no words were spoken, except when he offered me the egg roll and I declined. Ten minutes into the meal and I had already eaten half the stir fry and cut into Charlie's beef noodles. Twenty minutes in, and Charlie was almost done while I had eaten more than half the stir fry and almost all of his beef noodles. Hey, I was hungry.

"Could you get the dishes?" I nodded, glad that he had forgotten what he was talking about earlier. I scrubbed the dishes clean, and he went to set himself down on the couch, which quietly protested at his weight.

"...Don't forget. I already called Jacob to come pick you up and take you down to La Push. He should be here in about half an hour or so." _Way to jinx it, Bella_. Once again I nodded, and trudged upstairs up to my room to get changed.

Standing at my closet door, I leaned down to grab a small red blouse that was littered on the ground. It seemed familiar. I don't buy stuff like this at all. _This looks too fashionable for me to have bought it, I know that. It looks like something maybe-_ A sharp jolt of pain went through my chest, and then disappeared, leaving only lingering pricks of sadness.

"A-Alice..." I breathed. I could only say that Cullens name. The others never seemed too close, and I didn't even want to think about..._him_... My knees buckled from under me and I fell onto the cold hardwood. I felt as though I was repeatedly being stabbed. It was too much. The tears flowed freely, and I pressed the small blouse to my nose. It smelled just like her. Then, it hit me again. The tears stopped, and the thoughts started running out of my mind.

_He took everything that had their existence on it. The CDs, the photos, the car radio, the necklace, everything...Why would he leave something like this behind? It didn't even take me five minutes to realize that I wasn't the one to buy it. He wouldn't. Maybe..._

I ran toward my computer, and typed my email into it as fast as my shaking hands could type. My heart was beating extremely fast, and my mind was racing with ideas.

_How could they have come? Could one of them have come back? How could it have happened? Who would come back? Was it Alice? Or one of the others? Or did he just want me to remember part of him? _

When my email opened, I almost started crying again. The emails to Alice were still unread, and there were no new emails from any of the Cullens. It was like reality just felt like slapping me across the face. Of course they wouldn't come back. He just didn't notice that it wasn't mine. I sat in the computer chair, feeling defeated, when I heard Charlie yelling from downstairs.

"BELLA! ARE YOU ALMOST READY? JACOB'S ALMOST HERE!"

I mentally scolded myself for being so stupid. Jacob. He would be here any minute. The first thing I did was walk to my closet, grab a pair of dark jeans, a grey tank top and my black Vans. I didn't make any attempt to fix my hair. There was no way that it would be fixed using anything. I was almost sure Jake would like me the same in anything. He was always a really good kid.

"BELLA! COME DOWN! JAKE'S HERE!"

I almost smiled. He was my best friend for the past year. He put up with anything I did without complaint. I thought he was my best friend. He thought I was a candidate for something more.

My bedroom door opened, to show a tall, tan boy with a perpetual smile and long, shoulder length black hair. He was wearing a navy blue Billabong shirt and jeans, with his characteristic black converse.

"Hey Bells." He wrapped his arms around me in the biggest bear hug I had ever received, and picked me up off the ground like I was a pillow.

"Hey Jake."

He smiled, before reaching into his pocket for a note. It was a post-it with his messy writing on it. He started reading it out loud.

"You are cordially invited to...-INTO THE DRESSING ROOM! DANUHNUHNANANANANANA!" He started bouncing up and down dancing, and I smiled. That was his favorite; he had a CD with seven different remixes of the same song.

He stopped and started laughing. "No, okay seriously, I'm inviting you to the bonfire tonight. Some serious Quileute business, and I'm taking you. It's gonna be fun, I swear. This is the only place that Sam doesn't act like a jackass at. I swear him and his gang won't give us any shit. Promise."

"Yeah, sure...sounds like fun." Who cares if I went over the word limit, it's not like I was expecting Jake to come over anyway.

"Awesome! You wanna go now? We can hang at my place for a while if you want."

"Sure. Let's go." I grabbed my cell and my iPod and made my way down the stairs with him. Charlie was sitting on the couch watching the news when I got to the bottom step. Jacob took care of the pleasantries.

"See ya Charlie! We're having a bonfire, and it starts at ten, so we'll be back at around eleven and a halfish or so."

"Alright, just be safe. I hear the attacks are getting closer and closer to the reservation. I don't want you guys getting hurt. Bye Jacob, bye Bella."

I forced some words out of my mouth. "Bye Charlie."

When we got outside, I saw Jacob's remodeled Volkswagen Rabbit. "I didn't know you finished the Rabbit." Of course, that was partly because I hadn't spoken to him in more than four weeks.

"Oh, yeah. I finished it up around a week ago. Added the final touches on Tuesday, 'cause it needed a new paint job." He opened the door on the passenger side for me. "M'lady!", He added with a flourish of the hand that was over dramatized. I smiled.

"Thank you sir!" I added.

"Haha!" He laughed with a huge grin. I liked seeing him happy. It was like an aphrodisiac for sadness; it was impossible to be upset when you looked at that grin.

"Are we gonna go or what?"

"Yeah, sure. Ruin my fun, will you."

The car ride was filled with music from indie bands. Jacob screamed along to half of them, too. I had started laughing at him around the time when we passed the reservation entrance, which surprised both him and me. Everything about him just seemed so... Bright. He was the sun to me. He was always happy, bubbly and never stopped smiling. It was such a stark contrast with the Jacob that talks about Sam. He had started talking about Sam and his gang about five minutes after we passed the entrance. His rant was about how Sam terrorized him and his friends, and how his gang always followed Sam around and worshipped the ground he walked on. Jacob's eyes darken whenever he talks about them. I swear, the way he describes him makes Sam look like the devil's soulmate.

"Speak of the devil..." Jacob squinted and gestured to an open clearing ahead. There, sure enough, was Sam and his groupies. But instead of three kids surrounding them, there were five. Who was that? It was... Embry? And Quil? Quil Ateara? _That kid couldn't hurt a fly!_

Jacob grunted and banged the steering wheel. "I can't believe this! WHAT THE HELL IS HIS DEAL?" He drove the car off the small two lane road and parked near some trees.

"Jake...Don't do anything stupid..." I said from inside the car. _Too late._ He was already stomping halfway across the clearing when Sam approached him and started talking. His face was calm, but a little flustered.

"Can I-" Sam careened when Jacob roughly shoved him back.

"You sure as hell can help me! What the fuck is up with you! You can't just go around converting people into your sick little cult! Who the fuck do you think you are?" Jacob was visibly fuming. I was only a few steps behind, not wanting to interfere, but somehow, trouble found me. Paul was approaching me, looking like he could step all over me.

"Hey Sam! Here's the leech lover. Are we just gonna stand here and do shit, or should we teach this girl to stay away from things that are more dangerous than her?" Paul was standing a foot away from me, towering over me and clenching and unclenching his fists. He didn't see Jacob coming from behind him. Jake put a hand to Paul's shoulder and jerked him back.

"Don't you touch her you sick bastard!" Jacob was steaming. He looked like he could take all five of them, even though Sam and Paul were around six inches taller than him.

"And what are you gonna-" Paul stumbled back when Jacob's fist connected with the side of his head. Paul was sneering and his breaths were heaving. He looked like he could explode any minute. Quil, Embry and Jared all flinched, but Sam took a step forward, and spoke with authority that didn't seem possible for a person of twenty-two.

"Paul, calm down." Sam placed a hand on Paul's shoulder, and Paul seemed to flinch, but he ran off at an astonishing pace through the clearing and toward the woods. But Jacob sure as hell wasn't having it.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT? YOUR TROOP JUST THREATENED TO KILL BELLA! WHAT THE FUCK IS YOUR PROBLEM? **YOU SICK, DISGUSTING SON OF A BITCH**!" Jacob was in a rage. Sam still held his calm, but Embry and Quil stepped up, and Quil spoke to Jacob, trying to calm him down.

"Jake, bud, you'll get it soon enough, seriously man, there was no need-"

"YOU! YOU BASTARD! WHAT THE HELL? YOU SAID THAT YOU WOULD NEVER JOIN HIM! AND HERE YOU ARE, YOU SICK, MENTALLY RETARDED DICKHEAD! WHAT THE FUCK IS YOUR DEAL?" Jacob was almost running toward them, and you could hear the rage, anger and hate in his words.

Sam stepped up and almost growled at Jake. "**Stop. Enough.** You'll get it soon." Jacob reeled back. He stumbled backwards, and stood in front of me in a protective stance.

Embry approached Jacob. "If you start feeling weird, come talk to us, we'll help you get it."

"I sure as hell will never get it, because I'm not gonna be converted into your sick little pot smokers club. Let's go, Bells." He took my hand and walked quickly back to the car. Turns out we were in the middle of the clearing. Anger sure moves you.

Even after we got back in the car, Jacob's movements still were rough and angry. "Son of a bitch thinks he owns the world." We continued down the road toward his house. When we left my house, it was around six. It was already seven thirty when we got to his house.

The little one story building didn't look big enough to hold one person, let alone two, but whenever Jacob talked about home his face always lit up and he seemed happier. It was surrounded by the biggest forest ever, and First Beach was only a few minutes away. Walking up the small wheelchair ramp, Jacob fumbled with the keys for a while, until he grabbed the right one. Just before he almost put the key in, the door opened, revealing a smiling Billy in a wheelchair.

"Hello, Bella! Hey son, how are you two?" He ushered us both into the house. The living room was small, with two sofas and a recliner, but had the biggest and most badass television imaginable. The kitchen wasn't too far away, and the whole area had a feel that made you believe that an army could be rampaging through the forest surrounding, but you could still be comfortable. I sat myself down on the couch with Jacob after getting the okay from his dad.

"Fine, dad. We just had a small disagreement with Sam and his troop." Jacob had calmed down, and was untying his ponytail to relieve some stress.

"Jake, son, they mean well. Don't worry, they won't hurt you." His father seemed so sure. Especially when they threatened to rearrange my face.

"Dad, they didn't threaten to hurt me. They threatened Bella." Jacob's voice seemed stressed. I could tell because it was cracking and he was nearly heaving. His father looked at him like he grew three heads and they decided to barf on the floor.

"Well, they've never done that before...I'll talk to the elders. I have to go get the bonfire party set up!" He wheeled himself over to the door and almost fell when Jacob released a booming laugh.

"What're you gonna do, dad? Help carry the logs?"

"No, we have Sam and his friends for that. I'm gonna go get the elders ready." His voice was careful and cautious, like he thought anything could set Jake off. Which, it could, but Jake was his own son. What would he do?

"'Kay. Bye dad."

"Bye Mr. Black." I offered.

"Bella, please. Billy. Mr. Black makes me feel old." He said with a laugh. "Oh, and Jacob?" He looked at his son with the strangest look ever.

"Daaaaad! Just friends, remember?" Oh. _Oh._

He chuckled. "Okay son. I bought Coke, in the fridge bottom shelf." With that he wheeled himself out the door, and closed it behind him.

"Coke?" I asked. Coke was like super beer for Jake. It was the cocaine of the Black family.

"COKE! COKE! COKE! COKE! COKE!" Sure enough, Jacob ran over to the fridge, and grabbed the bottle of Coca Cola before opening it and pouring it into his mouth.

I laughed. "Jake, careful. We don't want what happened last time..." It involved eight liters of coke, seven underpants and three explosions. That, was a fun night.

He boomed with laughter. "HAHAHA! I REMEMBER THAT! LET'S DO IT AGAIN!" I did not need that.

"Why don't we watch a movie? Or maybe go to First? You could go surfing...?" I was very confused. A tall, teenage boy doing the worm on the floor was a pretty strange sight.

"WITH A SHINY NEW BEGINNING, WE CORDIALLY INVITE YOU TOOoooOOO! INTO THE DRESSING ROOOOoOoOoOoM!" Oh god. Not again.

~0o0~

Two hours and a bottle of coke later, we were almost laughed out and totally ready for the bonfire.

"And then, then Seth took the whole thing and shoved down a toilet!" He covered his eyes with his hands and started bawling with laughter. I held my sides because I was laughing so much.

"Seriously? That kid's like fourteen! How did he get so much dry ice?" Really. He was only fourteen.

"He stole it from the school science fair. It was hysterical."

"I believe you. We should probably get ready for the bonfire tonight, though."

"Yeah. I don't need anything, do you?" I shook my head. "Alrighty then, lets go."He opened the door and we made our way down his driveway. I noticed the huge black stain on his shirt.

"Jake, don't you want to change?"

"Naw, Sam and his crew almost never wear shirts, so if I turn mine backwards, I won't look that weird." He turned his shirt around, but the stain was on the back of his shirt now.

"Okay, now you look like a freak from the back, not the front."

"Stop insulting my logic." We got into the car and drove a few minutes down the road to First beach. The car was surrounded by trees for the first few minutes, due to the large, unwavering forests surrounding the reservation. It reminded me of something. _The dream last night..._ I held a little gasp in, and tried to repress the awkwardness of the situation. But pretty soon, it didn't matter, because we could see the large fire up ahead.

Jacob parked the car a ways away from the fire. It was exceptionally big, and even from a long way away you could feel the heat. The elders, Sam's group, and the two Clearwaters were already stationed on logs positioned about 10 feet or so from the rock barriers that held the fire back. I don't know how they could stand so much heat; I was already sweating like crazy when I got there.

"Jake, isn't it a little hot?" He looked at me as though I was crazy.

"Sure, it's a bit warm. I'll push the log back though." He took the enormous log under his arms, and with a look of concentration, pushed it a few feet back. My eyes widened.

"Jeez, Jake..."

"I know right? Check out these guns!" He kissed his biceps while flexing them and making faces. That, combined with the huge stain on the back of his shirt made a very funny combination. I stifled a laugh, and Billy brought everyone's attention to him. I hadn't even noticed the many other people of the Quileute tribe that had arrived.

"Attention, tribe members!" He cleared his throat, "We are here to share the stories of our heritage and origin. We, the Quileutes, were once wolves. Hundreds of years ago, we were members of a pack of wolves that roamed the Quileute reservation area. We are descended from the largest wolf pack, in America. Each and every one of us has some wolf blood in our veins, which is why we are pack oriented. We remain loyal to our families no matter what. I will begin the legends with the legend of the Great Wolf..."

Billy placed dramatic pauses in random places for emphasis. I listened on as he went through several Quileute legends, ranging from the birth of the first shapeshifter, to Taha Aki to the third wife. He stopped at one that was particularly interesting. Billy took a deep breath in as he continued what seemed to be a story he wasn't particularly fond of.

"Taha Aki bred several of the wolf species, and continued living for hundreds of years beyond the possible human life span. Shapeshifting rejuvenated him every time he changed." Billy cleared his throat again before continuing on. "With Quileute blood, a man could live forever. A Quileute returns to the age where he first shifted every time he changes back into a human. That is to say, if a Quileute kept changing forever, he would gain immortality. "

That was it. That was the word that interested me so much. Immortality. What would happen if I was a Quileute? I would definitely take advantage of the whole never dying thing. Everything that immortality has to offer is just so appealing. You could outlive anything, see anything happen. So long as you didn't meddle with mortals, immortality was a done deal. I didn't know why it interested me so much. You could get anything done in that time frame. You never die, and you become one of the most powerful beings, if not the most powerful being, in the past, present, and future.

I was snapped out of my reverie when a hand tapped my shoulder. I looked back to see Jacob standing there with a look that made me smile on the inside. He looked like a big puppy. The adorable rolled off of him.

"Bella...um... Can I talk to you for a second?" The adorable turned into anxiety, and I couldn't help but wonder what he would want to talk about.

"Um... Sure...Shoot."

"I meant in private. Let's take a walk, shall we?" I've never seen Jacob so tense in my life. He took my hand gently and led me away from the fire, while Sam looked in our direction with both curiosity and disgust.

We walked together, holding hands, for a while along the beach, until we reached a small bay that I had no idea existed. It was very far away from the bonfire, so far away in fact that the only light was the on-and-off rays of moonlight.

"Jake, I didn't know this was a part of First! It's beautiful!"

It was very beautiful. The moonlight poured down, giving the ocean a wonderful glow, until the clouds rolled over and covered the moonlight. The resulting difference in light created a beautiful shimmering effect on the water. Jacob turned on his heel and shoved his hands into his pockets. His head turned everywhere except in my directions he pondered what to say.

"Jake, you can tell me anything, you know."

He sighed. "I know... But that's not what I'm worried about. I didn't think that maybe what I would be doing would hurt you. I only thought about myself. I'm sorry I'm always so selfish," He started thrashing around and turning his body everywhere. "I don't deserve someone like you, and it was stupid of me to think anything would ever happen."

He finally righted himself and looked me in the eye. The clouds finally let the moonlight shine. "I wanted to talk to you... About... Something more than... Just friends." He relaxed, finally glad he got the most difficult part of the conversation out of the way.

"I want to think that you're finally over him, but that would be a lie. Bella, I don't want to see you suffer any more. And I feel that just being friends with you isn't enough. I want to mean more to you than just a friend Bella. I want to be so, so much more than that."

He took a few steps toward me, and remarkably, I had enough self discipline to not step back. "I want to help, Bella, but I can't do that if you don't let me. Please, please give me a chance. I'll never leave you," He looked me straight in the eyes, and I could tell he wasn't lying. His eyes had sincerity and a glow that the moonlight couldn't compare to.

He stepped toward me even more, and wrapped his arms delicately around me. And for once, for one time after they left, I finally felt safe. I felt as though nothing could hurt me as I clung to his shirt. I was finally letting my guard down to somebody.

We stayed like that for a while, me clinging to his shirt with his arms wrapped around me when I finally shifted. I thought long and hard about what this could mean. It was an opportunity to finally leave the memories of _them_ behind. To finally move on. And I knew, I couldn't stand the pain anymore.

I decided to give Jake a few words, telling him that maybe, with his help, I could finally right the wrongs happened during the Cullen era of my life. "...I-I... I can't be alone anymore..."

"Never again, Bella."

He leaned back so I could see his face. He had a soft smile with his eyebrows turned downwards on the outside, and I realized I finally had someone to take care of me. His lips pressed into my forehead, and he took my hand.

"We gotta get you home, Bells, your dad's waiting."

I allowed myself another word. "'Kay."

He led me toward a faint orange glow in the distance, and I could finally fathom the distance we had walked. No wonder I never saw this place, we're forever away from the bonfire.

We finally got to the Rabbit when he opened the car door for me and got in the driver side. He tried to start the ignition, which faltered. His brow furrowed together and his face scrunched up.

"Hm. I thought I fixed the engine. I'll try to fix it. I'll call Charlie and tell him we'll be a bit late because of car troubles. "

He got out of the car and went over to the car front, where he opened the car hood and started working his mechanic skills while simultaneously calling Charlie. He came over to my window and made a gesture with an air wrench and pointed to the glove compartment. I took the hint and reached inside the glove box to see a small tool box. The toolbox had a wrench. When I was about to open the window to hand him the wrench, I saw him looking above the car and to the distance. I saw him hang up and walk over to the other side, and that's when I saw the problem.

Sam and friends had decided to pay us a visit.

Jake walked over to them and said word that I didn't hear, and Paul responded by shoving him backwards. I saw Sam start talking to Jacob, and heard some incomprehensible yelling from Jake. Jacob got even angrier then, and looked like he was about to rip Sam's head off, but he calmed down when Sam and his crew walked away. Once again Jacob took to the hood of the car to fix some wires or something.

About fifteen minutes later, I heard a loud "A ha!" come from Jacob and saw him slam the hood down and make his way to the driver side with a smile that reached his ears.

"Jake so smart, Jake want coke, Jake gonna take Bella home!" Jacob rambled as he started the ignition and started driving down the road. I laughed at his funny expression and we spent the rest of the car ride listening to some CDs and talking about cars.

~0o0~

"I don't know what that is."

"Silly Bella, that part of the car is the-Oh, we're here!" Jake stepped out of the car and opened my door when we reached the house. He took my hand and brought me to the entrance to my house.

"Bella, I meant every word I said back there. I want you to be happy no matter what." He pressed his lips to my forehead, and suddenly the door opened.

"Hey Bells, Hey Ja-" Charlie looked very flustered as he caught Jacob kissing my forehead. "D'aw, lookit that..." He said sarcastically.

"Sorry sir... Won't happen again sir. Bye Bella, bye Chief Swan."

"Charlie, Jake. Chief Swan is for the station."

"Alright sir." Jacob made his way down the stairs and entered his car. He looked at me and did the "call me" gesture with a very obviously suggestive wink too. I watched his car as he made his way down the driveway. Seriously, that wink had me holding my sides for five minutes.

When I entered the house, I was bombarded by questions. "So, Jacob, huh? I thought you weren't over, uh, Edmund, was it? Did you have fun? How was the campfire? How's Billy? Did you bring any-"

"Charlie, can I tell you tomorrow? I'm beat."

His jaw dropped, and he stared at me like I grew a second head.

"What? I didn't do anything."

"Bella, that was eight words."

"Yeah? And?"

His jaw dropped further. "Um... Nothing, carry on..."

I made my way up the stairs and got into my pjs. I went to the bathroom, and cleaned up before making my way to my room to pick a change of clothes for tomorrow, which was school. I looked inside my closet to see a shirt that I had never laid eyes on on top of the floor. I picked it up and examined it.

_This isn't my top. And why does it smell funny?_ I took a deep whiff of it and gasped. This had the scent of Alice. This happened earlier today too, with the red top. Speaking of which, that was gone too.

_What the hell is going on?_

**Nother A/N: **Lol jk, I have nothing against Twilight :D and yes. Don't hate me. Remember, in the summary I said eventual BellaXAlice. But Jacob adds more drama. And yes, yes I totally just paired up Jacob and Bella in the first chapter. Keep in mind that instead of being 6 months since the Cullens left it was a year. I think no one has the attention span to mourn over something for half a year by being nothing. Bella is depressed. Jacob helps her recuperate, and then... Haha, I'm not that stupid sillies. I will give you a small spoiler though, so you can be prepared when it happens. Bella has an official relationship with Jacob, is single with her werewolf pack, has an unofficial relationship with Emmett (yes, he cheats on Rosalie) and finally ends up with Alice. Next chapter is more Sam pack, Jacobs pre-phase, Bella's interest in the occult and immortality grows, and more in the t-shirt dilemma.

I know, I know, my writing sucks. But I don't just want to jump in there. I'm sorry if I disappointed some of you, I disappointed myself too, but fillers are quite necessary to get the story places. I have to build things up, you know? And I will be sure to tell you when the werewolf part begins. Just read my ANs and you'll pretty much know everything in the story. Please review, constructive criticisms, anything... Just no bad reviews, like "good story, update soon".

Cheers,

The Lazy Werewolf


	3. The Port Angeles Mystery Man

**Title: Cut the Ropes**

**Author:** LazyWerewolf

**Disclaimer:** See Chapter 2 for blanket disclaimer

**A/N:** hey wazzup you guys... I know, I know. "BELLA AND EMMETT? WTF YOU ASSHOLE! THIS IS THE BXA SECTION RETARD!" yeah... But I plan on having Bella fall in love naturally twice, and then fall hopelessly head over heels for Alice when she turns were. Emmett, i guess would be the equivalent of Jacob in the books, so no worries. I plan on playing up the whole imprintion deal but the COTM version, no Quileute. This story is like no other. If you're looking for an Alice Bella flufftard or an Alice Bella angst, there are a lot of those out there, but only one of these. I read a cute fluffy fic called Hiccups just now. Seems like a decent alternative. This is the only fic that plays on several different dramas, and that also plays on another key angle of the Cullen family (not about to spoil that) Oh, and everybody give an air five to my anon reviewer Boo, who supplied the fuel for the spoiler I gave you up there. Congrats boo, you pretty much ruined all chances of a surprise, lol jk you all rock. Blatant honesty and hate speeches FTW. I really didn't want to call anyone out, but I just didn't like how someone can have one mindset and not think any other way. I kind of feel like this fic is getting angry reviews cause it's different. I'm sure it was the same with Paranoid Puppys Midnight (go read that too). The story is really great. Go check it out.

Side note, if you were wondering the song, its "Dressing Room" by Breathe Carolina. I will be updating faster because I'm snowed in. Damn winter.

**The Port Angeles Mystery Man**

Jake told me life was tough down on the Rez. He said that issues with homicides were getting closer and closer to the La Push area, and that in a few days, curfews would be in place. I didn't mind. Pretty soon I began counting my time not in days, but in how many times I saw Jacob. Honestly, my life revolved around him. His perpetual brightness made me happier than I had ever been with...Edward. _This kid is doing wonders._

It was only two weeks since the last bonfire and Jacob said they were going to hold another one. This time, it was for Sam and Emily's wedding. Jacob didn't want to go. He really didn't. When I spoke to him, you could hear the disdain in his voice at the mention.

"I mean really? The kid just broke up with Leah, like two months ago, and now he's getting married to her cousin? Serious fucking homewrecker, the bastard." Jacob reeled on the next time I talked to him. We were driving down to my school because my truck was acting up.

"Wow. I didn't know he was with Leah."

"Yeah, well, he was, and now he's with her cousin. Sick, sick guy...Hey, who are they?" He gestured to a group of my pre-Cullen friends.

"That's Mike, Jessica, Angela, Eric and Ben." I waved to them as we pulled into the parking lot. They all walked over when they saw me in a different car. Mike and Eric's faces held curiosity, and Jessica just seemed jealous. And partly disgusted. Angela and Ben walked over holding hands. After we parked in a decent spot, Jake quickly made his way over to my side of the car and opened the door for me. He smiled before taking my hand. I watched Eric and the group walk over.

"Hey Bella! Who's this dude?" Eric managed to make his way in between the crowded lot cars and say hi. The rest of the group followed closely behind.

"Yeah, I haven't seen him before..." Jessica looked at Jake like he was something to eat. I bet she forgot she was going out with Mike.

"Hey you guys, this is Jake. He's from the Rez." I laughed when Jake rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah...Hi." Jake seemed to turn red, but that was impossible with his complexion.

"Not much of a talker, are you?" Mike wrapped a protective arm around Jessica's waist. _Territorial._

"Nope. Sorry, gotta head back to the Rez, school's in an hour," Jake replied. He was making his way back to the driver's side when Angela spoke up.

"Man, I would kill to have school an hour later! That is so unfair," She huffed and Jacob smiled.

"Yeah, its great, innit? See ya Bells, bye guys," He waved before getting into the Rabbit again and starting the engine. We all watched him drive off, and pretty soon I was drowned in inquisitive questions.

"Oh my god, who was that?" "You goin' out with him, or what?" "Oh, can I meet him later?" "Is he always like that?" "OH MY GOD DID YOU SEE THOSE GUNS?"

Everyone turned to look at Jessica at that last question. "What? I mean really? Did you see his arms?" Everyone laughed, and we all made our way into campus.

The rest of the day went by relatively slow. Senior year was truly not as exciting as I made it out to be. The teachers drawled on, never really connected with students, so it was basically a lecture and notes, lecture and notes, lecture and notes, huge mid-term, and more notes. I was severely disappointed. Mainly because I thought that by senior year I would be married to a vampire and living in Alaska as a newborn. _But no, the Cullens pulled an Edward and left a human with full knowledge of immortality alive and well._ I was intent on changing things.

As I walked from class to lunch, I thought more and more about what being a vampire means to me. And yes, means to me, because I sure as hell wasn't going to just sit back and die when I knew living forever was possible. Edward could give me death glares and leave me to fend for myself for more than a year under severe depression, but I wasn't having it. _I will live forever. No question._

The lunchlady served a stale pizza on a Styrofoam tray that bent under the excessive weight. I paid my lunch at the cashier and headed straight for the table in the middle of the room, usually where our group sat. I sat down just as Mike and Angela arrived at the table. Mike picked up his pizza and stared at it like it was a monster.

"Euuuugggh... Jesus, these things can't get much worse than this. I mean really?" He hit the pizza against the table for emphasis, and it made a hollow thud. "I could kill someone with this."

"Yeah. Hey, Bella, that guy earlier today... He's not your, you know, boyfriend, is he?" Angela asked me. I wasn't about to say yes, seeing as... _Oh wait, yeah._ No worries, the Cullen table is empty.

"Yeah, I've been friends with him for a while, and you know... Things just sort of happen..." That came out a lot more awkward than I thought it would.

She laughed. "Just happen, huh?" I nodded. "Well, Ben kind of wanted to go on a double date with Eric and Kate, but they're busy that night, so maybe you and...Um, who was it again?"

"Jacob."

"Jacob would want to go out to Port Angeles today to shop around, and maybe go to that new Italian place in the square."

"They have a new Italian place?" I feigned some interest.

"Yeah. It's a really nice little place, in case you guys want to go. Do you?"

I was about to say yes, but then I remembered. Jake can't leave the reservation without permission. "Um, well, Jacob's kind of bound to the reservation, unless he has a pass or some sort of official permission. I'm pretty sure he can get special permission from his dad, though..."

"Oh. Well, try, 'cause we really need to get some stuff for some birthdays."

I didn't know there were birthdays. "Really? Who?"

Mike and Angela both stopped eating to stare at me. Mike did a double take before he swallowed and started speaking. "Really Bella? Wow, just like you to forget your own birthday."

I mentally counted the days. Wednesday the eleventh, Thursday the twelfth, and... September, Friday the thirteenth. Happy birthday, Bella.

"Oh... Um, yeah. Well I'll call Jake later today and see what he can do. I'll see you guys around."

The bell rung shortly after and we all headed to our own classes. The day passed rather quickly, and pretty soon it was already dismissal. Mike, Jessica, Eric and I were all on the same bus, so I followed them to bus four, which took us straight to my house. I was the first stop, so I grabbed my things to leave.

"Bye Bella!" "Yeah, see ya Bella!" "Bye Arizona!"

I waved and watched as the bus rolled away. Charlie's copper wasn't in the driveway, so I could call Jake as soon as I got in my room. The door opened, and I read a few notes on the fridge from Charlie, saying that I should go out and get some fresh air. Well, that fit in to my plans very well.

As soon as I got into my room I was greeted by havoc on the chairs. The desk was covered in clothing, the chair had two pairs of jeans on it and the lamp had three of my shirts hanging from it. _What the fuck? I didn't leave it like this!_

When I put my backpack down to clean up, I noticed a slight change in the color clothes I had. I knew for a fact that I would never by a lime green shirt. I picked it up and examined it. It was a very pretty blouse, but a size small. The edges were pretty worn out too. I had never seen this shirt in my life.

I began to notice a pattern. I wonder... And sure enough, the top that magically appeared on the floor of my closet yesterday was gone. I shuffled through my clothes, and found a band t-shirt that I remember putting away. Took a big sniff of it, and bam. There it was again. _A rogue vampire's going through my clothing. _

This was beginning to bother me. _If it was, one of them, then wouldn't one of them have warned me or something? Or maybe bothered to check their email inbox, seeing as how I had been emailing Alice for six months straight before I got over them._

Just for kicks, and to sort of prove to myself that they weren't coming back, I went over to the computer. I typed my email in, just like I did yesterday, and found one unread email from... _Wait, __**what?**_

_Rosalie ; Cullenfamily . com- Frontier Tampons_

_What the fuck? _Rosalie Cullen_ emailed me a tampon ad? What the hell?_ Did I get sick or something?

I opened the email and that was it_. A motherfucking tampon ad. From Rosalie Cullen. I think maybe I've been so mindfucked for the last six months that maybe I just see things._ I blinked a few times and it was still there. _What the fuck?_

_They think that after six months of torture they can just get the one Cullen that hates my guts to email me a tampon ad and everything would be just peachy? What the fuck! Something has got to be seriously fucked up with these people. _

"WHAT THE FUCK!" Yelling never got me places, but I didn't care where I went today so long as Rosalie fucking Cullen knew who she was trying to mess up. "WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK! YOU BITCH! YOU CAN'T JUST EMAIL ME A FUCKING TAMPON COMMERCIAL AND EXPECT ME NOT TO HAVE A MOTHERFUCKING-"

The cellphone in my pocket started vibrating. I had my rage, now was time to calm down, and answer... Angela.

"What?" That didn't come out as calmly as I thought it would.

"Um, hey Bella, I was just gonna ask if you were still up for Port Angeles tonight."

I bit my lip and ran my hand through my hair. Stupid fucking nervous reactions. "Oh, I haven't called Jake yet, I'll call him right now and call you back if he says yes, okay?"

"Cool. We'll be meeting up at the Port Angeles square at around five. Should I pick you up?"

An hour drive from the Rez, to my house and to Port Angeles probably wouldn't put Jake in a good mood. And speaking of good moods, I was about to punch a hole through the wall.

"Yeah, thanks. Call you back, alright?"

"Cool. Bye!" She hung up shortly after.

Dammit.

Dammit.

God motherfucking dammit.

_A vampire raped my closet, another vampire raped my email, and I was about to go shopping with my friends like nothing happened. Spectacular. _

I dialed Jake's number and waited for him to pick up. First ring, second ring... And there he is.

"Hey Bells, what's up?" I could almost see him smiling through the phone.

"Hey Jake. Listen, Angela called me earlier today, and she was wondering if we wanted to go with her and Ben to shop down at Port Angeles. Do you think you could get your dad to say yes?"

"Oh yeah! I got my Rez pass today, actually. Do you want me to come pick you up?" He said the last part with little enthusiasm. Hey, the ride was an hour. Can't blame him.

"No, it's fine, I told Angela to come pick me up if you said yes. We're meeting at the square at around... Five or so."

"Cool. I'll get going then. Bye!"

"See you Jake."

I hung up and called Angela again once I was suitably calmed down. It took around half an hour. _Once again, that kid did wonders._ Angela actually picked up on the fourth ring this time. I also didn't know why I bothered with small things like how many rings can happen before somebody picks up.

"Hello, Ange?"

"Yeah Bella? What'd he say?"

"He says yes. He got a rez pass, which is like a little ticket out of the reservation. It's only for a day though, so if you want to see him again, you can't, at least for another month."

"Aw, that would stink, only living in one place. Oh well. I'll be at your place in five." She hung up shortly after.

I used the five minutes she gave me to be at least somewhat presentable before I heard a car pulling into the driveway. That would be Angela. I ran toward the door, looking moderately presentable in a band shirt, some blue jeans and my black Vans. I struggled with opening the three locks on the door that Charlie put in place. A cop really likes his home defense.

"Hey Ange!" I greeted, once I finally got the door open after another five minutes.

"Hey Bells! Let's go, we're already a bit late, actually." She smiled and nearly ran to her car again, me in tow.

"How long?" I asked as I got in the car.

"Not much, just around five minutes." She started the car and drove out the driveway and down the small road.

The rest of the car ride was relatively silent, so we got there in around half an hour or so. Just as we pulled into the Square's parking lot, I caught glimpse of Ben's dark navy Corolla. Sure enough, sitting on the circular fountain at the entrance of the square, were Ben and Jacob, chatting about who knows what like they had known each other for years. They both saw us at the same time, and they waved after they saw us pull into a spot near them.

"Hey Bella! Hey Ange, how's it going?" Ben smiled and took Angela's hand in his own.

"Yeah, hey Bells, Angela. Where are we gonna go first?" Jake made his way over with the biggest smile I had seen on anyone's face today.

"Oh, we were thinking of going to the new Italian place first, and then go shopping at some of the stores nearby." Angela said. We all walked toward the new restaurant that settled itself on the furthermost point of the square, already halfway on the boardwalk just a few meters further in.

"Looks good," Jake said when we got close enough. We all entered together, and after around ten minutes, a hostess led us to a table with the best view I had ever seen.

We all sat down at the table, and it only took us five minutes to pick our respective meals and drinks, afterwards, the hostess was off and getting the food ready. We had our own huge conversation about everything. The main topic of discussion was the restaurant itself. We had all agreed that the facilities were great, but Jake laughed when I said that the tables looked like condoms. His laugh was so infectious that it was hard not to laugh with him, even if it was at your own joke. We all had a great laugh for a while, and then we settled down when the pasta and pizza came. I looked out the wide window we were next to, and looked at the amazing view. Forest, beach and town all in one sight. _Wow._

But something different caught my attention. Something way too familiar. A man, probably in his thirties, walked down the streets of the crowded square. His presence exuded superiority and... Disgust at the people around him? _This man's strange._ I was about to look away from him, but he turned to face me. His shoulder length hair was put up in dreadlocks, and his burgundy suit top contrasted with the black jeans he was wearing. His skin was black, but somehow had a shine that didn't seem natural. His eyes were a mesmerizing shade of crimson, which sent a shiver down my spine. I thought I knew him from somewhere. Just then, he turned back and looked at a man approaching him from far off in the distance. This man was tall, tan, and...No...It couldn't be. I looked back and realized mystery man number one had disappeared.

"Hey... Was that Bob Marley?" Ben had apparently also seen mystery man number one.

"Ben, sweetie, Bob Marley's dead." Angela replied between fits of laughter.

"Really? I didn't know that. He just put out an album like a month ago. Rokkstarr, was it?" Ben looked very confused.

"That was Taio Cruz, buddy." Jacob looked like he was about to spew laughter, along with food.

"Oh, I didn't know that."

"Jake, buddy, don't you think you've eaten too much?" Jacob looked at Ben like he was crazy.

"What are you talking about?"

"You're kidding. Dude, you've eaten four bowls of pasta and three slices of pizza."

"I've just got a big appetite, is all."

The others let his odd behavior drop. However, the rest of the conversation went by without a hitch, and Ben had completely forgotten the mysterious stranger that had appeared. The bill rung up pretty low for so much food, so we were all planning to go through different stores, and hit as many places as possible before they closed down. We were definitely in disagreement.

"I want to go to that American Eagle!" "Yeah... That sounds okay..." "Nuh-uh! I want to go see the Game Stop!" "Yeah, and then the other store with the Halo trailer playing up front!"

In the end, we decided to split up into pairs. Angela and I would go further into the square while Jacob and Ben would look at the game stores. We were about to split up, but Jacob suddenly grabbed my arm.

"Come with me," He said, while looking off into the direction of the pier. I looked, and saw who Jake had described as the bloody homewrecker. He also happened to be mystery man number two. The kid just couldn't leave us alone, could he? Sam Uley decided to grace us with his presence.

Jacob took my arm and started walking in the opposite direction. Sam, however, wasn't having it.

"Jacob! Nice to see you." He was no less than three feet away from the both of us. I looked around to see Ben and Angela looking on with curiosity.

"What do you want, Uley?" Jacob was fuming. How could someone get so mad, so quickly?

"I want to see your pass," Sam was referring to the reservation exit pass that Jake had.

"You're not the boss of me, Sam. You may have brainwashed my friends," Jacob pushed a finger to Sam's chest, "but you sure as hell can't boss me around."

"Let me see your pass." There was that strange authority voice again.

"No." Jacob had started heaving, and was speaking through gritted teeth. "Where the fuck is **your** pass then? We can't leave the place without it. Huh?"

"I have one." Sam pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket. "I'm here to get Emily's wedding dress. What are you doing here?"

"I'm here shopping with my friends, not groupies." Jacob's voice was louder by the second.

"Let me see your pass."

"YOU'RE NOT THE POLICE, ULEY!" Jacob had finally lost it. He took a few steps forward, but stopped advancing and held his stomach. He also covered his mouth. _What the...?_

Jacob ran to the garbage can a few feet away from where we were standing. He barfed up his entire meal, and Ben rushed to his side, followed by me and Angela.

"I don't know what your problem is, buddy, but you better leave before I call the cops." That was the most serious thing I had heard Ben say today.

Ben looked at Sam with a death glare, and Angela and I both rushed to Jacob's side as he started heaving up more barf. I couldn't watch, so I just held his hand. I did, however catch Sam walking off after Ben had told him off. Go Ben.

Jacob finally stopped heaving to say some words. "I'm not feeling too well. I think I might have to go home... Now." Barf.

"Okay, I'll drive," I offered.

"I came here with Ben. If you would be so kind," Jacob's face turned pale.

"Sure bud."

"I think that we should go too, Bella," Angela gestured to the cars. "It won't be much fun without them," with that I waved bye to Jake, who was still heaving into the trash can when Ben appeared with a bucket.

The car ride was silent, and Angela just seemed overly worried for Jacob. Don't get me wrong, I was worried too. Jacob always had a strong stomach. Back when we were little, Jacob had the strongest stomach ever. He would eat worms and not flinch at all. It was actually pretty disgusting. But just a small rouse from Sam and Jake was spewing like a water fountain. Something was up with him.

We had almost already arrived when my phone rang. It was Billy.

"Hey Billy, how's Jake?"

He sighed over the phone. "Jake is... He has some sort of stomach flu, and it's hitting him bad. I'm afraid you won't be able to come over for a while."

"...Uh...Okay...I'll see you later..." _Stomach flu? He was fine yesterday._

"Of course. Bye Bella. Say hi to Charlie for me."

"Will do." He hung up just as we entered the driveway.

I got out of the car and noticed that Charlie's chopper was still gone. Strange, it never took him too long to come home.

"Bye Ange."

"See ya, Bella! Call when you find out if Jake's okay." She pulled out of the driveway and drove off.

I fumbled with the keys for a while before heading straight to my room. Charlie wasn't anywhere to be seen. The TV in the living room was still off, and nothing was out of order. I went up the stairs pretty slowly, trying not to trip on anything. When I got to my room, I noticed I forgot to close my email. I walked over to the computer.

"Five-hundred fifty-seven unread emails?" _From Rosalie Cullen? Jesus, she really wants me to get new tampons. This can't be happening. What the fuck._ And once again, the clothing in the closet was disorganized and messy. This was too strange to be true. I ran my hand through my hair again. _Who the hell just raped my closet? Or did a tornado named Cullen run through it?_

I decided to leave a small trap. I would take my dirty shirt off and leave it on the computer chair, band side down, but leave another shirt with the same design on top. The first shirt, however, had no tag. If the vampire was in a rush, or in a hurry to get back to a certain place, they probably wouldn't notice. I would probably leave the clothing alone. I enacted it, seeming to carelessly through away the shirt, when really it had a specific location. I went to take a shower and changed into my pajamas. Afterwards, I went to get into bed though, and noticed something.

_Instant gratification_, I thought. The vampire had indeed left in a hurry. Sure enough, the two t-shirts were switched. I wondered. _Could they have known what I had been planning? They probably did. The vampire would have needed to be close by. Maybe they left it like that on purpose? Or maybe..._

My train of thought was interrupted by the phone ringing. I flipped it open, surprised that Jake was calling.

"Jake, are you okay?"

"Um...Yeah...Better, at least. I think that it might be contagious, and I don't want you to get it. I'll call when I'm okay. I'll see you then, alright? I think I have a lot of explaining to do..." He sounded much better than at the square.

"Okay. I'll see you then." He hung up.

Well that was quick. _I hope he'll be alright._ Meanwhile, I had my unexpected visitor to handle.

**Nother A/N:** Wow, the Emmett thing really got some people riled up. Okay, let me rephrase that. Emmett is the equivalent of Jacob in the books in this story. Shoulder to lean on, forehead kisses, hugs, not much, people, relax. And remember, I did say eventual BellaXAlice. Imprinting isn't something you can put off. Can you guess who mystery man number one was? He plays a vital role in the story... Leave your best guess... cookies to those who figure it out XD I hope I made it somewhat obvious. Who is the closet raping vampire? Why is Jake getting stomach flu? Why is Rosalie emailing tampon ads? The answer to all of this and more in the next chappie. And if you're not enjoying the pairings, stop reading. Go read Hollowgo.

I wanted to make a compromise. I will update as fast as I can on the weekends, but don't expect me to update on weekdays. If you're disappointed with the writing style in the past chapter, I wanted to say that all of the drama starts next chapter. Jacob reveals his true colors, Bella gets a book on immortality, and the closet raping vampire reveals themselves.

One more thing: For you potter lovers, go read "Bungle in the Jungle" and "Turn me Loose: A Harry Potter Adventure" by jbern. The best fic on fanfiction, I dare say. Sorry for the short chapter, im snowed in, gonna keep writing, peace out.

Cheers,

The Lazy Werewolf


	4. Please Keep the Wolf from the Door

**Title: Cut the Ropes**

**Author:** LazyWerewolf

**DISCLAIMER:** See chapter 2, Reservation for complete disclaimer. I don't own.

**A/N:** Yes. Yes I am pretty young. Yes, I am bi. In fact, I guess I can't even be bi because it's not all girls, it's just my soulmate and best friend :D I don't see why that's a problem though because it doesn't change the content. Don't like the heterosexual parts? Skip them. Don't like the story period? Move on and read a pure Alice Bella fic. I know this really good one called "Midnight" by ParanoidPuppy30. Just don't troll on my fic, kay? This story goes there, back, and twenty different places. The story is getting there as fast as possible, and if you stick with me, you will not be disappointed. And for **Ash**: it's a different kind of imprinting, I only used that word because I have no other word for what Bella's going to get :D curse my small vocabulary. And none of them really know about the wolves yet except Sam and friends. The six months thing wasn't a typo, Bella just got over them in the span of six months. So, we'll have a lot of issues in this chapter. Oh and get ready for some serious surprises and completely unexpected endings and edges. See you at teh bahtom. (Oh and does anyone know how to work the single line breaks? I can't get those quite right)

No! Wait one more thing! I need to make a note here because I'm not sure if I made it clear enough. Jacob did not phase before the dance, I repeat, DID NOT PHASE before the dance! He thinks it's just a fever. He chops his...Okay, now see you at the bottom.

* * *

**Please Keep the Wolf from the Door**

Happy birthday, Isabella Marie Swan.

Friday the thirteenth. Worst day of the year. A day renowned for terrible situations, with the added benefit of having everyone wish you happy birthday. _Wow. Fuck my life._

It's funny how many times you fall on a day that was supposed to be the best day of the year for individuals. I mean, isn't your luck supposed to get better on your birthday? But I guess not when your birthday is on the day known for awkward situations and bad luck.

The day hadn't even started and I already knew this would be the worst day of the year. No toothpaste means morning breath. No breakfast means no food until one in the afternoon. And broken car means Charlie gets to drive me in the chopper. The only clothing available, thanks to my unexpected visitor, was a Radiohead shirt and a pair of paint stained jeans. And to top it all off, Jacob invited me to his school's Friday the Thirteenth dance through the phone at around two in the morning, not letting me get sleep. And I said yes.

_God kill me now._

I got in the car with Charlie as he started the engine. A loud, obnoxious blaring noise erupted from the police sirens.

"Charlie! Turn it off!" I covered my ears and closed my eyes. _Please, please don't let this be happening._

"I can't! It was stuck like that since yesterday!" Charlie screamed over the loud screeching. His head was pressed to his shoulder in an attempt to keep both hands on the wheel and still cover his ears.

_I can't believe this is happening_. "I...can't believe this is happening..." He couldn't hear me though, the siren was too loud.

The entire car ride through, civilian cars stopped and swerved through the side and people looked honestly scared to death at a cop car this early in the morning. People stared and looked on with wonder as they saw the Chief of Police driving at a civil pace with his daughter in the passenger seat. The road, which would normally be a bit crowded, were clear and people that did come by panicked and drove into the nearest exit. All while staring at the girl in the passenger seat.

When we finally got to the school, sure enough everyone stopped to stare. And yes, everyone. Every single fucking person stared at me like I was some sort of criminal and the Chief of Police decided to drop her off at the school. I got out of the car, bid my goodbye to Charlie, and everyone was still staring. _Act calm, act calm, act calm..._

"Hey Bella!" I shrieked and turned quickly around to face Angela. She was wearing an extremely amused expression on her face.

"H-Hey, Ange, how's it going?" My annoying nervous tick of stuttering while running my hand through my hair was coming out again. _Damnit._

"Fine, thanks! How's Jacob? That kid yesterday really messed him up, man, I've never seen someone so angry!" As we were walking down, thankfully all of the looking and curiosity dispersed as Angela led me toward the entrance of the school.

We reached our lockers very quickly. "He's got the stomach flu. It looks like he got over it pretty quick, though, 'cause he invited me to the reservation school's Friday the Thirteenth dance."

"Aw. Did you say yes?" She looked inquisitive.

"Yeah...I wasn't about to say no!" I got my books out and headed to home room with her. She was in my first two classes, so I would have no trouble continuing our discussion.

"So...You said yes, just to not say no?" Angela seemed interested in my situation. Or, she was trying to hide the small wrapped box that she held behind her back.

I sighed. "Angela, I can see the box..." She looked disappointed, and held out a small box wrapped in silver wrapping paper.

She smiled. "Oh well! Happy birthday Bella!" I took the box out of her hand and carefully unwrapped it. It held a twenty-five dollar iTunes gift card. _Well, that was awfully considerate._

"Aw, Ange! You shouldn't have!" I didn't like it when people spent money on me.

"Well, if you're worried about the price, you shouldn't be, because Ben and I both split the cost," She said, right as Mr. Banner walked in.

"Oh...thanks Angela," I whispered and waited for Mr. Banner to begin his daily lecture.

Maybe today would be okay.

~0o0~

I couldn't have been more wrong. The trip total for today was at an astonishing ten, many of which Mike had to help me up, which didn't put me on good terms with Jessica. I got two more presents. One was a set of movie tickets for two from Eric and Kate, and the second was from Jessica and Mike, who got me a Three Days Grace CD. All in all, it could have been worse. I guess I could be thankful, considering they had P.E. as an elective and not required, but still, having to show up in Charlie's chopper pretty much gave me twice the attention as normal. However, one good thing awaited me at the parking lot, not far from the place Charlie parked earlier today.

Jacob was leaning over a remodeled Harley-Davidson, with his hair cropped to be a little longer than a buzz cut. I was pretty sure I looked like a cartoon, with my jaw hitting the floor. I mean, _wow._ The kid's hair had gone halfway down his back yesterday, and now he looked like a grown man. _Super puberty, anyone?_

He walked over to me with a smile, and wrapped me up in his arms. "Hey Bella! Are you ready for the dance?"

_Dance?_ "What dance?"

He leaned back to look at me with a confused face. "You know, the dance you said you'd let me take you to? The Friday the Thirteenth reservation dance? The dance you said yes to?"

_Oh, that dance."_Um, sure... I don't have a dress, though." Shit, that could be a problem.

He led me over to the motorcycle. "It's fine, I told Rachel to go get a dress from Seattle, and here it is," He patted a box that sat on the back of the passenger seat, right above the license plate. "It's really pretty, I'm sure you'll look great in it—um, uh, um—Not that you don't look great now, but... Nevermind. I got the dress." He rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. I thought it was pretty sweet.

"I get it. So," I stared at the bike and raised an eyebrow, "I'm gonna go on _that?_" Emphasis on that, because Bella plus motorbike equals decapitation.

"Yeah. Need help getting on?" He mounted the bike with ease, and I mounted on after, nearly falling on my face.

"Um, yeah, eep!" He got off the bike and picked me up with extreme ease, and placed me on the passenger seat before mounting the bike again.

"There. We're going straight to my place. Now, hold on tight, I spent two months remodeling this, and I gotta say, it's a monster."

He revved the engine and I grabbed onto the front of his shirt, holding him in a death grip. _I swear, if I fall and die, I'm gonna kill him. _The wind whipped by violently, but I didn't dare open my eyes. But even before we left the school parking lot, I became aware of a searing heat, coming in the direction of...Jacob?

"Jake, you're really hot," I said.

"Baby I know," He looked back and gave me a dramatic, but suggestive wink before laughing and turning his head back. I blushed violently.

I furrowed my brow. "That's not what I meant, and you know it. Jake, you're burning up! Are you sure you're okay?"

He breathed through his nose loudly. "That's a side effect of what I'm getting. Don't worry, though, I made Billy get me pills so no one else can get it. I swear I won't start barfing in the middle of the dance."

I still hadn't opened my eyes because if I did, my eyeballs would probably fall out because of such high wind speed. I decided to make some conversation, because it got kind of quiet after we drove five minutes without saying anything.

"Jake, why did you cut your hair?"

He rubbed the back of his head. "Why, don't you like it?" He said, with a sort of sad voice.

"No, it's not that, it's just that I'm used to seeing you with your long hair, and it's just...Different, you know?"

"I cut it 'cause it was just getting way too bothersome. I mean, seriously, I kept having to buy like ninety bottles of shampoo a month. Just too much stuff to keep up with," He laughed.

The rest of the ride was quiet because I couldn't open my eyes and speak. I didn't want to risk falling off this monster, as Jake called it. But pretty soon, we were at his house and I had yet to let go of his shirt.

"Bella, we're here, you can let go now," He said.

I dared a peek out, and saw the familiar red paint of Jacob's house. "Oh...Right. I'll get off now..."

We both walked to the door, and just when Jake was reaching inside his pocket for his keys he was interrupted by Billy greeting us on the other side of the door frame.

"Kids! How are you?" He once again ushered us in the house, but Jake did a double take and ran back to the motorcycle.

He was grabbing a long, grey bag out of the box he had said the dress was in. Jake ran straight for the door, and entered when his dad smiled.

"Here it is! It's your first birthday present," He said with a ridiculous grin.

"...First?" I liked it even less when my best friend turned boyfriend bought me gifts with his own money.

"Yup! The second is already in your room," Billy said from behind us. He closed the door and Jacob took my hand toward the couch, where he plopped down and had me sit next to him. _Man, did this kid swallow a heater?_

"Charlie helped us get it into your room. You can see it when we go to your place," Jacob said. He reached for a remote on the floor and flicked on the TV to a movie called "Inception". It caught my attention when the protagonist passed out and started screwing with reality.

"Can I get a hint?" I might as well try my luck.

"It may or may not go well with the CDs your father got you," Billy said from the side of the couch.

Jacob sighed and looked at his father. "Great job, dad. You just ruined Charlie's gift."

Billy's eyes widened. "Oh! Um, it may or may not go well with a sandwich?"

"Cheap shot dad."

Billy laughed before wheeling off to another room farther in the house.

I sat there leaning on Jacob for a good hour looking at the struggles of Leonardo DiCaprio and his freak dream machine. Billy had wheeled himself over to the side of the sofa around thirty minutes in. It was a very good movie, but I had seen worse drama. I unconsciously touched the tender crescent bite mark on my wrist. _Yeah, way worse drama_, I thought to myself. Jacob shifted on the couch and looked at an invisible watch on his wrist.

"My watch isn't working..."

"Talk about cheap shot, Jake," Billy chuckled.

Jake snorted. "Your jokes aren't much better. I think the dance starts in half an hour. Bella?"

"Yeah, I'll go get ready, I guess... Can I borrow your bathroom for a while?"

"Sure Bella," Billy kindly answered. "Take the dress, too."

I shut the door behind me when I entered the bathroom. It was particularly big for a house this size, and oddly more renovated than the rest. The ceiling was pretty high, and the ceramic floor was a dark marble. The bathtub was on the far end, with the toilet next to it.

Sitting on the toilet seat I opened the grey bag, which contained a very pretty navy blue dress that looked like it would go down mid thigh. It was kind of like a silk, but the straps were made of something different. It was simple, but probably more beautiful and flattering than anything I would be able to pick out. I remembered that it hadn't been either Jacob or Billy to pick out the dress, but Rachel, Jacob's sister. _This girl had a great since of style,_ I thought. _I'm sure she would get along great with_—My heart did a little stutter before I righted myself. _Now's not the time. It'll never be the time._

I put on the dress and did my best to fix my hair, which was actually already done up in curls. My hair was naturally curly and wavy at the same time, so I didn't have to do much except fix the hair that framed my face. I looked in the mirror and examined myself. I really didn't look half bad. _I guess wonders run in the family._

I was in the bathroom for fifteen minutes before I opened the door to the bathroom and saw Jacob sitting on the couch in a black suit.

"Wow, Bells...You look beautiful..." He came straight over and gave me a hug. We heard a cough behind us.

"Uh, parent in the room. And shouldn't you two be going? You've got ten minutes to get there," Billy said.

""Kay. Ready Bells?"

I thought for a bit. "We're going in the Rabbit, right?"

Jacob laughed his booming laugh before grabbing my hand and leading me out. "Car to prom? You wish."

~0o0~

"_Tonight, lightning strikes,_

_Lets gooooooooo, into twilight..."_

The music inside the crowded gym was booming. I hadn't expected to see so many people in one place. I really thought there was going to be a max of around a hundred people in the reservation high school, but it seemed as though families were getting less and less conservative by the year. The mammoth gym looked as though it held at least two hundred people already, and looked as though it could fit another four hundred.

The large circular stage in the middle held a band I had never heard of before. Their music was great, and the lead singer had a voice to make the number one hit seem like child's play. There were loads of kids cheering them on, and all of them had the characteristic tan skin and jet black hair native to the Quileutes. But all of them still partied just as hard as any kid in Forks High.

Jacob stepped in front of me and took my hand with the biggest grin ever. "You like?" I nodded. "Good, 'cause this band is as good as it gets. Here," He handed me the keys to his motorcycle. "I have no pockets. You have a purse though, so you know..."

"Sure, I'll hold on to it."

He led me toward the middle of the crowd and started dancing like mad along with everyone else. I decided to let go of my little klutzy act for once and have fun. If I fell, I had Jacob, right?

The band on the stage consisted of a bassist, drummer, two guitarists, and two singers. All of them were Quileute, and held the same native features everyone else but I had. The band switched on and off between the male voice and female lead singers. They were great. They didn't even get an auto-tune but they sounded better than any pop songs I had ever heard.

"_First time I saw you..." _The male voice shocked me. It was so perfect, it was hard to imagine a voice like that.

"_...When we first met,"_ The female voice was high but had a flair that I hadn't heard before.

"_I had the fever,"_

"_As bad as it gets,"_

"_You let me see,"_

"_Much in my eyes,"_

"_It was so smooth, sparkle and shine...And it shined..." _

The Quileutes burst into cheers as the singers took breaths to start the chorus again. Jacob was dancing like mad and held my hand while he cheered on the band.

"_Tonight, lightning strikes,_

_Lets goooooooo, into twilight..."_

"_Everyday, everyday, everyday we're goin' all the way!" _

The band finished with a flair of the guitars, and everyone erupted into cheers. People were throwing roses that seemingly materialized out of nowhere at the band, and the band took a bow. Much to everyone's dismay, the bassist and guitarists made their way off the stage, while the drummer left the drums on the stage but followed them. A short, familiar boy came up on the stage, grabbed the wrists of the two lead singers and raised them above his head.

Jacob put his hands to his mouth and started yelling. "SETH! SETTTTTHHH!" He hissed. Oh. _Seth Clearwater, the kid with the dry ice fetish._

Seth turned to face him before smiling and nodding in our direction. Jacob rolled his eyes. "Kid let the host thing get to him."

Seth took a deep breath before announcing. "Ladies and gentlemen, PACK MENTALITY!"

The Quileutes roared in happiness, and loads of people threw roses and flowers at them with a frenzy. One person chucked a bouquet from across the room and hit the calf of the female singer. She bent down to get it, and across the stage you could see the guys on the other side with their mouths wide open. _Must be quite a view._ The guys received a death glare from the male singer. _Probably together._ The couple made their way across the room to meet up with the other members of their band, the female clutching the bouquet to her chest as people crowded around them, demanding autographs and photos.

"Best band ever," Jacob breathed. "Let's go see Seth!" He dragged me around the circular stage, where the crowd was only beginning to disperse. Pretty soon we came upon a group of people surrounding a flustered Seth, who was wearing a simple black and white suit.

"Yeah, they're great. The second guitarist is pretty cute too, but I think she's hooked up with the drum—Hey!" Seth protested as Jacob dragged him away from the crowd and toward a table covered in food and drinks.

"Dude, you just killed my cool, man," Seth sighed.

"You can't kill what you never had," Jacob replied.

Seth stopped letting Jake drag him to give him a look with a raised eyebrow. "Seriously dude? Cheap shot. You lost your game, bud." I laughed at the general situation.

Jacob shot me a glare that shut me up before giving me a smile. He turned to face Seth. "Dude you're the host? Of the whole thing?"

"Yeah. A sophomore hosts the senior junior dance and a senior hosts the freshman sophomore dance. I thought they did that when you were a sophomore too, right?"

"No, apparently they changed it."

"Aw, man! They probably changed loads of..." Seth trailed off. "Hey, didn't Paul already graduate?"

Jacob and I simultaneously turned to see Paul approach us. The man was wearing a sharp suit top, but instead of suit pants he had ripped up khaki shorts. He actually did a little feigned smile.

"Hey Jacob. Leech lover," Paul greeted us.

Jacob pushed him back. "Don't call her that."

"Ooh. Little Jacob wants to pick a fight," Paul didn't tower over Jacob like he did the other day. Now that I looked, Jacob grew a bit. Or a lot. He was a lot taller than the other day.

Jacob growled. "Don't insult my girlfriend," He gritted his teeth. Seth looked my way before moving carefully toward me, taking my arm and trying to move away.

Paul noticed. "Where do you think you're going, bloodsucker fucker?" He walked his way over to me, but Jacob pushed him back with a force that made him fall flat on his ass.

"**I SAID NOT TO INSULT MY GIRLFRIEND**!"

Paul got up and took a right swing at Jacob, which sent him teetering back toward Seth, who held a terrified expression.

Jacob started shaking. He hunched over and started breathing really quickly and heavily, and from where I was standing, you could see the veins in his arms popping out and his body heaving with large breaths. The change was happening faster and faster until Jacob let out a loud roar that silenced the entire room.

And then something happened.

**My boyfriend exploded.**

His ripped up clothing flew everywhere, and far off on the other side of the room I heard a scream. Seth held an expression of pure horror, and he ran straight toward the exit. It took a while before people started registering what happened, and then the gym broke out in to mass hysteria.

People were screaming and dropping whatever they were doing to try to shove past toward the entrance. The band dropped their instruments, the electric bass turning to matchwood in the process. Everyone ran toward the double doors, which couldn't handle the mass of students trying to shove their way past others. And when I turned around, I began to fathom why.

In Jacob's place was the biggest, most tremendous dog I had seen in my life. It towered at least four feet over my nearly six foot stature. The huge dog was twitching and thrashing, sending tables and cords, amplifiers and floorboards flying. Its fur was shades of brown that alternated between dark and light throughout its pelt. I noticed Paul on the floor a few feet in front of the mammoth wolf, when he looked me in the eyes and screamed, **"RUN!"**

My legs started working right then, and I sprinted as fast as I could toward the entrance, which was almost cleared of students. I forgot that I was naturally accident prone, and I faceplanted after tripping on a stray cord that emerged from the stage and connected to an outlet on the wall. The noise from the thud reached the dog's ears, and it turned to see me. It took a mighty roar before turning my way, but not before Paul exploded as well and turned into a huge, grey wolf.

_This can't be happening. _

_I just got rid of the vampires, now this?_

I ran as fast as I could toward the now clear entrance, and as soon as I got past the double doors I locked them behind me. Right after, I was pushed backwards and I looked to see that the two inch thick door had a huge dent in the middle. _Holy shit._

_Need to think fast. Okay. How do I get out of here?_

_Purse. Keys. Motorcycle. Go._

The Harley-Davidson was a few feet away from the entrance. I ran toward it while simultaneously looking for the keys in my purse. I mounted it and fit the keys in the slot, starting the engine right before a huge, russet brown wolf bursting through the double doors.

"OH MY GOD!" I screamed, kick starting the bike that I didn't even know how to drive. I sped down the road that led to the rest of town. Looking through the rear view mirror, I caught a monstrous grey wolf attack the huge brown one. Of course, I didn't have a lot of time to care about the well being of the brown wolf while trying to keep balance on the bike.

The bike roared down the roared and I tried to keep from hyperventilating on the bike. Passing out would result in having a huge wolf eat my guts. I did not want that. I was driving as fast as I could, swerving oncoming traffic and watching the huge traffic jam that was the student body escaping the monster wolves.

I didn't have time to think before my hands and body acted on my own, and I felt the edges of my dress rip from the contact with the cars around me. The bike swerved in and out of the cars, while car horns blared around me. I didn't want to fathom the fate of the few cars heading toward the school. One way road equals certain death.

I examined the dashboard in front of me. _Don't Harleys have a magic turbo button? Bikes have turbo buttons in movies, where is it? _

I started flipping every switch I saw while simultaneously keeping the bike on two wheels. Apparently adrenaline fuels the coordination reservoir in me. The lights on the bike were flashing, but there were not desired effects. I flipped the last switch on the dashboard. _Turbo turbo turbo turbo turbo... No, just a radio._

"_I keep the wolf from the door but he calls me up,_

_Calls me on the phone, tells me all the ways that he's gonna mess me up,_

_Steal all my children if I don't pay the ransom, and I'll never see them again if I squeal to the cops..."_

"Fuck you, Radiohead," I was at the head of the car pack, screeching down the road at 100 miles an hour when I saw a man in a wheelchair come out of a house.

"BILLY, CALL THE COPS!" I screamed when I passed Jacob's house. I was terrified for my life, no way in hell that I was about to stop to dial the cops when I have two deranged wolves coming after me.

Speaking of deranged wolves, the big brown one was knocking cars off the road as he sped toward me with a death glare. The grey one trailed right behind. Suddenly, a mammoth black one, bigger than all of the others behind, tackled the brown one. Spectacular. Now there are three wolves out to get me.

My heart was palpitating at a mile a minute as I drove the bike past the La Push border and down the small road. _Okay, my house is thirty minutes away at forty five._ I checked the dashboard for the speed. _One twenty-five..._ _I'm gonna get there a lot faster than thirty minutes._

Speeding past cars on the bike, I drove straight into town. The Forks High entrance was just a few stops away. I sped by with ease, catching the glare of an ongoing police light in the parking lot. Just then, I heard the loud blaring of a police chopper. _Hell no, I have psychotic wolves after me, I'm not gonna stop for you to give me a ticket,_ I thought. The chopper was gaining speed, and following me down the road to my house.

Five minutes and a cop chase later, I had arrived at my house, where I hit the brakes and nearly fell off the now totaled bike. The chopper stopped in the driveway, and I saw Charlie running toward me with a worried and angry look on his face.

"Bella, what in the HELL do you think you're doing?" He hunched over me, and I started spewing out everything I knew.

"CHARLIE! You have to send people down to the reservation, the dance, and the people, I think some people may have gotten hurt, I got away as fast as I could, the...w-wolves and the cars and all the traffic and people hurt, a-and..." I rambled on and stopped because I was hyperventilating.

"Bella, calm down. I'm calling the station, I'm gonna get them to go down to the reservation to see if everyone's alright, but," His parent voice came out, "You go into your room, AND YOU DO **NOT** COME OUT, DO YOU UNDERSTAND ISABELLA MARIE SWAN?"

I nodded, trying to mumble out a coherent response, but failing. I tore my shoes off and left them near the entrance, running as fast as I could up the stairs and into my room. I ran down the hallway to get into my room, and maybe pretend that my boyfriend didn't just explode into a wolf, that I didn't just see not one, not two, but THREE wolves the side of Manhattan trying to get me, and that I wasn't about to have a heart attack.

But just as I opened the door, something that would make me run out and head back to the wolves greeted me.

"I know what it looks like," A half naked, barefoot Emmett Cullen was holding one of my U2 band tees to his armpit. "But I swear it's not what you think!"

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**Nother A/N: **Nevermind, I found the button for the single line breaks :DTold you you wouldn't be disappointed. All of the drama. I had a heart seizure writing this chapter, lol. To answer some questions that Ash asked: Too many spoilers. Waaayyy too many spoilers. I don't want to ruin the fic for anyone (everyone). And here I gave you Emmett. Even more questions will be answered next chap, and the Rosalie tampon thing will actually be answered. And yes. Jacob totally just phased in front of a gym filled with people and a famous band.

The first song (the one the band plays) is "Go All The Way (Into the Twilight)" by Perry Ferrell. It was on the Twilight soundtrack, which was the only part of the movie I actually liked.

The second song (The one that's playing on the radio) is "A Wolf at the Door" by Radiohead. I thought it fit in here pretty well.

Well, I might write tomorrow. I might also let this simmer for a while. You know, just to drive you people crazy :P Either way now I'm snowed AND iced in, so I'll write. Hope the winter snow isn't getting to you.

Cheers,

The Lazy Werewolf


	5. Justified

**Title: Cut the Ropes**

**Author:** LazyWerewolf

**DISCLAIMER:** See chapter 2 for complete disclaimer. I do not own.

**A/N:** stop pointing out my falwdles!¡ lol this, my friends, Is why I need a beta. But I have no idea how the beta process works, and it would take a bit longer to update. Schools out today too, so chapter for you. Next update will be on Saturday. Weekends only, remember? I'll write to get some stuff done, but no updates. I hope this chapter answers some questions. Also, Bella sees her first Child of the Moon. Not bitten yet, though. See you at teh bahtom.

HAHAHA! SINGLE LINE BREAKS, YOU CAN'T FOOL ME!

* * *

**Justified**

It's funny how karma leaves you alone, and then when you finally let your guard down, she turns around and vomits on you. Life is a bitch. Probably just for me though.

I stood there, with my mouth gaping wide, staring at the overgrown six foot five bear that was Emmett McCarty Cullen. He kept his stance with my shirt on his armpit until he decided to speak.

"Bella...? Are you alright?"

Normally, I would have cracked up laughing at the strangeness of the situation. Here was the monster of the Cullen family wearing only brown pants that had been rolled up to about mid-calf, wiping his pits with a shirt that had a little boy with an army hat on it. And here I was, leaning against the doorframe, wearing a ripped up blue dress and holding a pair of keys to a Harley-Davidson that once belonged to my deceased boyfriend. _And the naked bear was asking me if I was alright? Kodak moment, anyone?_

Emmett dropped the shirt and held his hands up. He loosened up and took a few steps backwards.

"Alright, so... I'm gonna go now..." He turned and grabbed the frame of the window.

"No! Wait!" I ran full blast at him and hugged him. He hesitantly wrapped his arms around me as well. _Emotional breakdown in five...four...three...two..._

I sobbed uncontrollably into his freezing shoulder.

"Emmett, the people, the cars, b-bike, boyfriend, and the w-wolves! They're out to get me!" I turned into a mess of tears, sobs and a dress as he patted my head and held me up.

"Ssh... It's... Okay?" It came out more like a question. "Wait, what was that about wolves?"

He leaned back, looking me in the eyes before staring off into another direction. I heard Charlie enter through the front door and start walking down the hallway below. Emmett contemplated what to do.

"Um,uh... Here!" I let out a squeal as he mounted me on his shoulder before opening the window.

"Emmett, what the fuck are you doing!" He stepped out the frame of the window, me in tow.

"Um... I don't know!" He then jumped off the side of the house, leaving the window wide open, and we caught some air before he landed on his feet and started running.

I screamed as loud as I possibly could. There was no way I was gonna be kidnapped by a vampire _again_. Emmett seemed to falter in his running speed as he tried to figure out how to get me to stop.

"BELLA STOP SCREAMING! STOP SCREAMING! STOP! NO SCREAMING!" I sure as hell wasn't about to listen and I started kicking my feet in an attempt to make contact with his face. He was running so fast that the edges of my dress were whipping him in the face. _Go dress._

"NO!" My dress silenced him again and I still kept screaming. "STOP! NO! BAD! STOP! JUST STOP! STOP! STOP! **STOP DAMNIT**!"

The forest came to a halt and he reached inside his pocket for a pair of keys, which he quickly opened the door of the abandoned Cullen mansion with. I felt us zoom up two flights of stairs and he gently sat me down on a huge bean bag.

"Um, um, um... HIDE! QUICK!" Emmett pitched a blanket over me and blurred downstairs again. I was about to protest, but I heard the door open and slam loudly shut.

_What the fuck!_ I tore the blanket off of me before I heard the door open again. I could identify the noises clearly. Two sets of footsteps and a very loud male voice screaming in terror. And now, a second, female voice yelling.

"EMMETT MCCARTY CULLEN! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU WOULD BE IRRESPONSIBLE ENOUGH TO BRING BELLA HERE!" I could hear the words perfectly clearly through two floors.

The resonating boom of Emmett's voice began trying to reason with the loud, angry female voice. Emmett's voice got louder, and you could clearly hear the frustration in his words, though the words themselves were indistinguishable. More angry yelling from the female voice. A loud thud. Emmett's voice got louder and much more angry.

"ME? IRRESPONSIBLE? LOOK AT YOU! YOU BROUGHT ONE OF THOSE WOLVES FROM THE RESERVATION HERE! WHAT THE FUCK ROSE?" _Wolves? From the reservation? Does that mean that there's more than three? Holy shit!_

You could hear the loud tearing of fabric and a huge roar that shook the house. I was utterly terrified. But then, you could hear a large boom and a yelp, then Emmett's voice again.

"SHUT UP! NO ONE ASKED FOR YOUR OPINION!"

Emmett and Rosalie continued to argue until the wolf roared again. I didn't know who, but someone silenced it before I saw the door to the room I was in open.

Emmett stepped through the doorway, with a smile like nothing had happened.

"Hi, how was your day today?" I could have answered, but I was being picked up again and carried to the bottom floor, where there was a smaller wolf compared to the ones I saw at the dance, but still huge. The wolf was a dark grey color with spots on his back. It was clear that it was a him, because Rosalie was repeatedly kicking it in the crotch. I would have laughed if Rosalie hadn't sent me a death glare after Emmett sat me down.

"And what do you think YOU'RE doing here?" I wasn't about to answer. Thankfully Emmett answered for me.

"Chill, Rose. Bella's here because I brought her," He sighed, and looked pretty defeated. "I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking. But," He sent me a look before turning back to Rosalie. "I think we owe her an explanation."

Rosalie sighed, and sat down on a recliner away from the wolf. Emmett put his arm around my shoulder and sat down on a couch away from the wolf as well. The female vampire sighed, and began to speak.

"Okay...Where to start..." She seemed to be mock contemplating, and I took a deep breath and prepared myself for the first coherent response of the day.

"You could start on why you're here."

Rosalie started. "Okay. First off, when we left, Edward was being Edward and demanding no body to talk about, think about, or look for you. Esme was heartbroken; you were really almost her eighth child. Carlisle, however, agreed with Edward, and demanded that we leave. Jasper and Esme took his side, along with Edward. We ended up being stuck in Canada, far from any human contact. But then, Alice snapped.

"Alice had a vision overload. She saw you dying forty different ways, and she broke down and left the coven. She ran for six days straight, trying to come see you, but Edward kept stopping her, claiming that you wouldn't appreciate us coming back. Anyway, she settled on staying in Paraguay for a while, and we don't know where she is now. But before she left, she told us that the most recent vision that she had of you was that a vampire named Laurent—"

"—The same guy who was with James and Victoria," Emmett interrupted.

"Killed you at a boardwalk while you were out with her friends," Rosalie finished.

Oh my god. I had scraped by death, and made it out. I am some kind of lucky. Or stupid. Either one.

"Well, she didn't specify that you died, she just said that you disappeared from her visions. She was really heartbroken; you were her favorite almost sister," Rosalie sighed.

Emmett decided to finish off. "Anyway, we decided we were sick of living in Canada. Carlisle said that we couldn't do anything against Edward's will, so we decided to leave the coven. We wanted to take matters into our own hands. That was more than nine months ago. Alice hasn't contacted us in over half a year," He said. _I can't believe it. Even after I left, I managed to split the coven._

Emmett continued. "We tried so many different ways to get your attention. We tried rearranging your clothes, leaving behind items with our scent. Rosalie emailed you an encrypted ad. If you would have decrypted it, you would have seen the hidden letters," He explained. _That would explain the tampons._ "We were about to try getting our scent on your worn clothing, but, you ruined the plan," He chuckled.

"So, the reason we're here is to save you from dying a horrible death. I packed your bags, and guess what? We're going to London," Rosalie spoke up.

_Wait, what?_ "Wait, what?"

"London, you heard me," She repeated. _No. NO, __**NO!**_ I had just gotten over their leaving, my boyfriend explodes into a giant monster, I get kidnapped by a closet raping vampire, and now the two Cullens that paid least attention to me were expecting me to run off to go to a foreign country. _FUCK NO._

"No," I growled. _Fuck no._

"Excuse me? You don't have much of a choice. By leaving, Edward condemned you to death. The biggest coven of vampires on the face of the planet is after you, plus two extremely dangerous nomads. We have a plan, and you're gonna follow it," Rosalie approached me. _Wait, hold it. What? Again?_

"Explain," I demanded. I am a person, not an animal. They can't just take me away to a different country and expect nothing to happen.

Emmett grabbed my hand and squeezed it gently. "Our plan was to have you do something similar to what you did when James was tracking you. You would claim to be going back home, sick of Forks, and we would make a fake death scene. Then we would fly to Europe and I would turn you, that is, assuming you would cooperate," He sent a look to Rosalie, who stood abruptly.

"What do you mean, ASSUMING? SHE HAS TO COOPERATE, OR ALL OF US DIE! INCLUDING _THEM!_" She sent a death glare to the_...Wait..._ In the giant wolf's place was a very real, very naked Embry Call. The same boy who assaulted Jake the first day Sam and his pack gave us trouble.

I swallowed. "W...What are they?"

"THEY'RE FUCKING **WEREWOLVES**!" Rosalie grabbed the boy and threw him across the room. With a yelp, Embry crashed against the stone fireplace. He quickly recuperated, though, and sent Rosalie the fiercest death glare I had ever seen.

"You'll pay for that, bitch!" He started rumbling again; thrashing in his place, but Emmett grabbed him by the shoulders and locked him in place.

"Stop. Calm down, we need to talk, please," Emmett began pleading with the naked boy. "We need you to block Alic—" I guess being naked put them at the same level, even though Emmett was a pair of pants up rank.

"Calm down? CALM DOWN? YOU'RE THE ONES WHO KIDNAP ME AND EXPECT ME TO LISTEN TO WHAT YOU'RE SAYING? YOU'RE FUCKED UP!" Embry wasn't about to play diplomat with the vampires.

"Embry... What are you?" I scraped by a few words.

He looked at me with confused eyes. "Bella? You're with these bloodsuckers?" I shook my head.

"I got kidnapped too," I joked.

Emmett blurred up the stairs and got a pair of pants and a long, thick rope.

"I'm sorry, but this is gonna have to work, whether you like it or not," Emmett said with a sad tone.

I didn't see Rosalie come up behind me and snap a pressure point in my neck. I blacked out right as Emmett did the same to Embry.

~0o0~

It was dark. Very dark. And hot. Very hot. In fact, it was so hot and dark, had I not known better, I would have said I was locked in an oven. I would have guessed that I was tied to a stovetop too.

I shifted, rubbing my skin against my bonds. I still felt pretty drowsy, and I had no clue where I was. The look of the room lightened a bit when the clouds moved out of the moons way. I looked around to see a pair of small windows and moving forest behind them. I assumed that we were in a moving vehicle.

The uncomfortable heat pressed against my back shifted.

"Augh..." Embry groaned.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"How the fuck should I know?" He shifted against the ropes that tied us together. We both simultaneously leaned our heads back, leaning on each other's shoulders.

"Okay, I have a plan." He sounded confident.

"Shoot."

"I go wolf and we get out of here. Then we go back to Forks, I warn Sam and we all live happily ever after," Embry said.

_That's a terrible plan._ "Sounds good. Ready? Go," I said.

Embry's uncomfortable heat radiation grew ten-fold, and soon, I was awkwardly pressed to the roof of the car while a giant grey wolf was trying to kick his way out of the car. The wolf kicked the back door harder and harder, until he had managed to create a dent. He reared up, and sent one last kick toward the door.

_Success_, the door flew off the jamb and landed on the speeding road behind us. Embry barked, and I turned around and grabbed his fur. He ran straight out the back entrance, and soon we were flying backwards on the road. I looked back and saw the truck do a one-eighty and turn backwards toward us. Embry sped forward.

The speed we were going at was incredible. I had never ridden a horse bareback, let alone a werewolf, but there I was, holding on for dear life to the fur of a sixteen year old wolf as we were being chased by two vampires in an eighteen-wheeler. Embry sped forward, trying as hard as he could to lose the two vampires that were following along. He took a sharp turn into the forest, with me almost falling off.

I saw the eighteen-wheeler stop, and saw Rosalie and Emmett get out of the cabin. Emmett was wearing a somber expression, but Rosalie was wearing the most terrifying expression I had ever seen. Embry's death glare couldn't even compare. Speaking of which, said glare was beginning to run after us.

"EMBRY GO FASTER!" I screamed, right as the vampires began to catch up. Embry's legs worked faster as we zoomed past the forest, sending us little by little away from the two vampires. We were going faster than vampire speed. Embry had just managed to escape their reach when we came upon a large clearing. The moon shone against the clouds as Embry-wolf and I made our way almost to the end of the clearing, when a flash of red blurred past my vision.

Embry suddenly did an involuntary flip as he tripped on some invisible branch and landed on his side while skidding down grass. I fell off of him, skidding a good meter or so away from him before coming face to face with someone's feet.

"Isabella, you should not have tried to run away from me, that day on the pier," Laurent said as he picked me up by the hair and examined me.

"No, you shouldn't have. We missed you very much Isabella. I see you got a new pet," Victoria kicked Embry in the ribs, causing him to fly backwards near me. We were surrounded by the two dangerous nomads Rosalie had mentioned earlier.

"I honestly couldn't help it. We smelt two different scents, one terrible reek, and... you, Isabella," Laurent looked me in the eyes and grabbed my chin, tilting my head side to side.

"It was such a surprise... We never expected to see you here in California, but here you are," Victoria said, stepping toward me and Laurent. _California...We had been kidnapped two states away._

"Your scent is indescribable, Bella," Laurent pressed his nose into my hair. If I could scream, I would, but fear had the paralyzing effect on me. Just then, a sonic boom caused Victoria to fly over us and land on her feet behind us. Emmett and Rosalie had found us.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HER YOU BASTARD!" Emmett's booming voice reached my ears after he let a fist fly into Laurent's face. Laurent's hands let me go, and I landed upon a soft mass of fur.

"Run, stupid human!" Rosalie screamed as she tried to bring Victoria down.

I obeyed. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me toward a split in the forest, where a small path was carved out by who knows what. My dress no longer tore up, mainly because I wasn't wearing it. I was actually wearing a fairly comfortable shirt and a pair of rolled up sweat pants and sneakers. _Thank god for workout clothes._

I heard loud footsteps coming toward me, and I looked back to see Embry, fully recovered from his hit, running toward me in his normal body.

"Care for a ride?" He asked, right before exploding into his wolf form.

"Thanks," I responded as I grabbed his fur and mounted on.

You could still here sonic booms erupting from the clearing we left far behind. We both sped through the forest, going as fast as Embry's tired form could take us. Pretty soon, though, Embry tired out. He slowed down to a walk, and I examined my surroundings. Embry had taken us very far. We were on top of a mountain, very near the summit, overlooking a vast pine forest.

Embry's breathing grew heavy and labored, and he collapsed down, taking a seat in the puddle of water his heat had created. He rested, and turned to his normal self before he passed out.

The snow fell continuously for hours afterwards. I had curled up against Embry's form for heat, and was worried to hear that no sonic booms had reached my ears. I wondered what had happened to Rosalie and Emmett. Even if they had kidnapped us, they were still trying to help. All the snow that fell on top of either me or Embry melted immediately, and soon the water from said snow was making a puddle large enough to drink out of. I bent over the lake drank. I hadn't eaten in a day.

The forest's silence was broken by a loud howl. I turned around, closing my eyes and trying to express my opinion.

"Embry, you could have just...Embry?" Embry hadn't moved an inch from where he passed out. But a normal sized wolf couldn't have made a howl that big.

I stood up and looked around. Everything seemed in order. Nothing was particularly off, except for the large full moon that loomed over the entire forest. If you looked hard enough, you could see a plume of purple smoke in the distance. Someone had lost the battle, but the smoke gave no indication as to whom.

Once again, a loud howl broke the silence of the surrounding forest. I turned around to see that Embry had still not moved from his place. _What could it be?_

My natural curiosity led me to walk slowly around the edge of the mountain. I could probably see better if I reached the summit. The path, however, thinned to the point of being nothing but a ledge for your feet. I didn't want to risk it, but I did. I was already close to dying, why put it off?

I took a hold of a few rocks and scooted my feet toward the ledge. It didn't protest at my weight, even when I put all of my force into it. _Seems safe enough_, I thought. I kept moving along the ledge to reach the summit. I think maybe fifteen more minutes passed before my hands caught hold at another ledge, which seemed to be the tip of the mountain. I climbed up the steep rock face, to find that the summit had actually been chipped off.

I sat myself down on the flat rock face. The mountain was huge! I mean, sure, Embry had run most of the way, but still, I had climbed my fair share as well. I looked around at the full moon. I had never seen the moon this large. It took up a large amount of the sky, and looked invariably huge tonight. The purple plume of smoke seemed to dissipate slowly before it was completely gone.

One of the two pairs was going to come looking for me. And I sincerely hoped it wasn't Laurent and friend.

Yet another howl broke the silence of the night. _What the hell? What type of wolf howls that much? _I turned in the direction of the howl. It turns out, that the type of wolf that howled that much really didn't look like a wolf at all. I could see it on the other mountain far from the summit where I sat.

It was extremely large. It was also extremely loud. It tilted its head back and howled once again, picking up its right leg while doing so. The large wolf thing's arms were longer than its back legs. And yes, arms. It very clearly had hands. _What the fuck is that thing? _Suddenly it turned and faced me. I'm sure I was very visible, seeing as how I was the only moving thing for miles, and on top of that I was shaped like a human. The wolf being, however, took interest in my presence. It scurried off the rock face and jumped on a pine tree, which shook under its weight. The wolf jumped on top of another tree, which swayed and nearly hit the next. It repeated its movements until it was at the mountain I was on. It had taken an interest to me, clearly.

The wolf suddenly jumped and sunk his claws into the rock face. My breath hitched. It was steadily climbing in my direction. Only one thing occurred to me at that moment. Embry was still on a ledge passed out. In other words, help was still on a ledge passed out.

"Embry!" The werewolf didn't hear me. However, wolf number two did. Its head turned toward me and it menacingly growled.

"Embry!" I tried again. The yell echoed around the rock face. Embry didn't stir.

"EMBRY!" Now the wolf thing was roaring and climbing as fast as it could toward me. However, something hard grabbed me from behind and carried me off.

I started screaming, but the mystery person turned around and glared at me. I was staring Rosalie in the eyes.

"Shut up! Do you want it to hear us?" She whisper yelled.

I shook my head, and she took me in her arms and carried me down the rock face. I could vaguely see Emmett's large body carrying a collapsed Embry off the mountain ledge. The wolf thing was on the summit, in the exact place where I was once sitting, had Rosalie not saved me. It sniffed around, and then picked its snout up and released yet another howl.

Rosalie had carried me a safe couple of mountains away from the mutant wolf when Emmett caught up and set Embry down. We were in the middle of a huge plateau on a mountain, with Embry laying on the floor. I sat down to try and shake him awake.

"Kid's out cold."

"Em, was that what I thought it was?" Rosalie actually held some fear in her voice.

"I'm afraid it was." Emmett looked troubled.

A huge groan escaped from the tan boy's lips. He slowly got up and looked around.

"Augh...What happened?"

"You passed out," I said.

"Where are we?" Embry was extremely flustered.

Rosalie decided to step in. "It doesn't matter where you are. What matters is that Bella now has a werewolf after her." My head spun.

Embry protested. "I'm not that bad!"

"Not you, dumbass," She explained. "You're not an actual werewolf. You just shapeshift into a wolf. There's a huge difference."

"Have you seen me? I can turn into a fucking wolf. I would call that werewolf," He said.

"No, you're a shapeshifter. Real werewolves aren't born with it, they get bitten," Emmett elaborated.

"It doesn't matter!" I yelled. "What happened to Victoria and Laurent?"

Rosalie bent down to examine Embry. "We were able to get Victoria, but Laurent escaped while we were burning her."

"So he's still out there, right?"

"I'm afraid so."

"So...About the werewolf... You said it was after me?" I trailed off.

"Yeah. It caught your scent and now it'll be looking for you. You can't run away from those things. If we had reason to go to London, now we have to leave the country. The only thing that stops that kind of monster is water. Large bodies of water. And that's only because they can't swim," Emmett explained.

"I have a question," Embry asked from where he was laying.

"Shoot, wolf boy."

"Why London?" Rosalie was tying Embry's ribcage up in gauze, due to the broken ribs.

"Because London is in Europe. Europe is the one place Carlisle and Edward don't want to go," Emmett said.

I was very curious. "What? Why?"

Rosalie sighed, and kept talking while wrapping Embry up. "They don't want to go to the Volturi. The Volturi have an issue with Edward for falling in love with a human. And also..." She trailed off and looked at me, as though expecting a reaction. "We think that's where Alice is going next."

_Now that's a decent reason. _"Alice? Why?"

Emmett sighed. "We don't know. She's been going everywhere. One month we might get a call from her from China, the next day maybe she flew to Australia. For whatever reason, she hasn't hit London yet, so, we just guessed that maybe..." He seemed hurt. Losing his sister did a number on him.

"Maybe she'd want to go to the one place the Cullens never touched..." Even Rosalie seemed down.

"Anyway, we have to go. We're near a town with a hotel. We'll drop you two off, you can get a room while we go hunt." Emmett smiled, quickly regaining his happy composure.

"Have you forgotten one small detail? I HAVE NO PANTS," Embry yelled.

"We'll worry about that when we get there," Rosalie said. She quickly picked Embry up and started running. Emmett offered me his hand.

"M'Lady," I remember being in a situation similar to this.

"Just...Just go," I said. His face dropped a bit as he picked me up bridal style.

I curled into his granite chest. Everything that happened, it all happened within forty-eight hours. My life had changed, starting with Jacob's wolf-splosion. My life was slowly picking up a year after all of the Cullens left, and then all this happens. Karma really was a bitch. I guess she's justified, though.

Not five minutes later, the orange hue of streetlights reached my eyes. I saw Rosalie blur into a house, and quickly dress Embry. She then sped over, Embry in tow, to us.

"Here's some money. Go get a room," She shoved Embry forward. Emmett set me down and gave me a parting hug before waving with a smile and blurring off with Rosalie.

I examined my surroundings. _Pub, tavern, bar, inn... Inn!_ I held Embry's hand and walked through the streets. He stood near me, trying to ward the eyes of men away from me. One guy even walked near me with a pedo-smile, but Embry held me closer before yelling, "Fuck off," to said man.

We got to the inn. Getting a key was pretty easy, because the front desk had no visitors. The man, oddly enough, was decent, and didn't ask too many questions. Embry and I made our way to the room that we got. _101, 102, 103, 104, 107..._ _Wait, what? _

"Where's one-oh-six?" I asked.

"Just use the door to one-oh-seven." I did, but the door wouldn't budge. Then, I saw a storage closet labeled with 106.

"Embry, could you go down and tell him that this key is to a storage closet?" I handed him the pair of keys and he nodded. Embry ran down the hallway and down the stairs, not bothered at all by his broken ribs.

I was alone. The moon was still shining up in the sky, bigger than I had ever seen it before. I leaned against the railing and stared off. Embry was changing keys, and Rosalie and Emmett were out hunting. That left me alone. But a pair of cold hands grabbed my shoulders and leaned me back.

"Beautiful night, isn't it, Isabella?"

I turned around to see Laurent grabbing my shoulders.

"Oh, Isabella...We have so much to discuss..."

* * *

**Nother A/N: ****WARNING! BIGGEST SPOILER EVARRRR!**Bella gets turned were next chapter. I know. Cliffies are my thing. Saturday or Friday scratch that Wednesday will be when I post the next chapter. Being snowed in for five days sucks. And best part is that my water pipes broke, so I haven't taken a shower in 2 days XS eeeeeeeewww ikr. It seems to me that even though I say not to post reviews that say "Awesome update soon" People keep doing it. Please. Don't do that. I don't care if you're gonna troll, or post awesome reviews like Ash XD but don't put those crap reviews on here. Go spam someone else.

Song for today is Politik by Coldplay. Fic for today is Eternity by 51readaholic15. Have fun you guys. I live in the South (Where being gay is like asking for hell) and none of us have snow tires, chains or even snow plows or anything, so pretty much everything is closed until the weather gets better. Is it snowing where you guys live? Leave me a comment :D I will accept crap reviews if you guys post if it's snowing where you live, and why or why not it bothers you. I think I'm gonna make this a thing. I dunno yet.

Cheers,

The Lazy Werewolf


	6. Two American Werewolves in London

**Title: Cut the Ropes**

**Author:** LazyWerewolf

**DISCLAIMER:** See chapter two

**A/N:** yeshh. Today's the day you've all been waiting for. Bella gets turned on this fine, snowy day. Then team Werepire (shuddup) go to London. Hence the name of this chapter. Oh and if you want to know what werewolves look like in this story, check out my bio, because my profile pic is Bella-wolf. And to my reviewer twinkie: vampire? No, werewolf. I don't know if I made that clear enough or not. I'm sorry I didn't :/ and to Lynne: thank you :) glad you're enjoying it. Hope you don't have a heart attack with this one though ;D

Okay, so what happened with this was that I stayed up till two in the morning writing and eating pita chips in bed. If anyone has an iPhone you know about the notes feature. Yeah. I typed the entire chapter on that. My thumbs are sore.

I really need a beta that's reliable. I don't want to wait a week for a fic that could've (should've) been out in a day. I'll think about ur offer, Ash. Don't laugh at my ineptitude with grammar! Because this chapter is supposed to be serious, and I can't have sadists laughing as Bella is in pain! Oh and for some reason centering font isnt working today :/ no clue why. These : ~0o0~ are meant to show time elapsing, but you might miss them.

* * *

**Two American Werewolves in London**

To say that fear was an emotion was a clear understatement. Fear was a new mindset that attached itself to you. But then again, to say I felt fear when seeing Laurent is also an understatement. I felt pure terror.

My breath hitched as he continued to examine me. He seemed overly fascinated by my human movements. His nose then scrunched up, and it looked kind of like he tasted something sour.

"Let's go somewhere more... Private, Bella," he lifted me up easily and threw me over his shoulders and carried me off. His vampiric speed was twice that of Rosalie and Emmett combined. _Probably because he drank human blood._

A few seconds later we came upon a closed room. It looked like a shed from the outside. The room was stationed in the middle of a clearing, not much different from the ones we were at before. Memories came flooding back.

_I was at my old ballet place. James held a video camera to my face as he tortured me. Thought it was fun. Edward burst through the open window, rescuing me from my scrape with death._ But that was just it, wasn't it? How many times had death passed my side? I think maybe one too many.

Laurent took my hand and kissed it. "M'Lady?" Yeah, where have I heard that before?

He led me inside the shed, and closed the door behind us.

"Did you know, Bella?" he said with a small French accent, "I used to work as a psychologist, in my human years. I would like to know what," Laurent paused to take my hand and sit me down on a chair, "has been troubling you."

I laughed. Death was funny. "I'm being kidnapped by two vampires. A werewolf is hunting me down. Another vampire is about to drink me dry," I laughed and turned to him. "And my boyfriend exploded two days ago."

He seemed thoroughly amused by me. "Well, Isabella, it seems monsters have taken a liking to you."

He started pacing around, grabbing the back of my chair.

I thought death was actually being nice to me for once. Maybe I could die talking to him like an old friend. "Well, it seems I have influenced your world much."

He raised an eyebrow. "How? You thoroughly fascinate me. "

I laughed again. Death was certainly treating me well. "One of the members of the Olympic coven fell in love with me. And then," I smiled, "then he and his family left me. They left a human with full knowledge of immortality alive. They just got up and left."

He laughed a hearty chuckle. "Well, how is it that that influenced my world?"

I thought about it. "The Olympic coven has been split. The two you fought back there," He zoomed behind me and got a chair. He sat in it backwards in front of me. "And then the others you met at the baseball match."

"Well you certainly have a good memory. James is all but a distant and unpleasant thought to me. But he is hard to forget," He took my hand and began toying with it.

"James was sadistic. He didn't make dying as...pleasurable as you are doing so."

Laurent began talking again. "Our short existence as a nomadic coven was certainly interesting. We each had our own way of killing. James' favorite method was torture. I got to know my victims. You are the most fascinating one I have met to this date. Victoria, however had a different method," He began speaking in a laughing tone. "She used to rip their heads off in the middle of climax. Safe to say that James and Victoria got along very well." We both shared a hearty laugh.

"So, Bella... I have a burning question in mind. Why are you so calm? Most people can't even get a word in, so it seems kind of like a very shallow kill," He explained.

I smiled. "Death is very...surreal. I guess it was all in the situation. James made it absolutely terrifying, the car crash was kind of unexpected, and having giant wolves chase after me was just outright flow of adrenaline. I just feel... Calm, now. Like I probably deserve to die after all I've been through," I said. _Either that, or all self preservation centers in my brain had shut down._

Laurent looked at me with his dull, burgundy eyes. "Well, I would like to get to know you before..."

"Yes, I understand. I guess I should start at the very beginning. My birth name was Isabella Marie Swan. I was born on September thirteenth, nineteen eighty-seven. My parents are Renee Dwyer and Charlie Swan. I started ballet when I was four..."

The time passed, Laurent and I sharing laughs and discussions about many topics. He was most interested in the wolves, and was disappointed to know that I didn't know much on them. After a while, he got up and walked to a window where he took a deep breath and hissed.

"I'm afraid your time is up, Bella," He turned to face me. "I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know you. I'm sure you will be one of my most –" He was cut off mid-sentence. By what, I had no clue.

A huge mass of fur ran straight through the walls of the shed and tore through the floorboards as if they were paper. The monster swung and arm and sent Laurent flying, causing my captor to fly fifty meters through the air. I gaped. The giant thing was at least 20 feet tall! Its hands alone could grab Laurent like a doll. Laurent hissed at the huge beast, trying to get a hit in, but the monster kept pummeling and pummeling him. It seemed as though after a while, the monster got tired of playing. Laurent's eyes widened as the beast's arm tore through him like he was made of fabric. But then something unexpected happened. Laurent's body began to disintegrate around the wolf monster's arm. Pretty soon, all that was left were a few ashes.

The monster's head snapped to the side quickly and it looked at me with pitch black eyes. It let out a deafening roar, and I took that as my que to run.

I sprinted toward the door and shut it behind me on reflex. It was probably a stupid maneuver because it wasted precious seconds, and the beast demolished the walls on contact. Another deafening roar hit my eardrums, but I continued running. The thing caught up quickly and swiped across my back, sending my flying farther than Laurent did into an open space, cornered by a mountain.

I crashed against the wall of the rock, and I could hear audible cracks as I screamed. I turned to see the beast prowling toward me with its fangs bared. I pressed against the rock and whimpered pathetically. Death decided to revoke its previous decision of letting me die in peace by replacing it with this thing._ I don't know what I did to upset you, karma, but please, please make this quick..._

I caught a good look at the monster. It looked like a dog from the waist down, but its torso resembled that of a human. It had hands. I immediately recognized it as the wolf from the mountain. The wolf that Rosalie and Emmett said would... _Oh..._

The were-thing stepped up and grabbed me by the shoulders. With one hand. Its strength rivaled that of Emmett. _Emmett? This thing's twice as strong as Emmett._ It let out a deafening roar and inched its face closer to mine. _Ow...ow... AUGH!_ It was holding my shoulders so tightly that I felt it beginning to crush them with as much ease as I would have crushing a can of soda.

I looked up to see it baring its teeth. It opened its mouth, taking in a sharp intake of air, before letting out a screeching howl. I had no time to react before it sunk its teeth into my neck and shoulder. Its teeth went far enough to crush my collarbone, before it pulled out and tore a chunk of my flesh out.

James's bite was nothing.

Vampire venom had to be nothing.

Nothing compared to this.

I let out an ear splitting wail. I could feel the most immense pain I had ever felt in my life, probably in my whole future life as well. That is, if I didn't die of blood loss. The pain was terrible, nothing could even compare to it.

The wounds on my neck began doing something indescribable: they were healing incredibly quickly, and then ripping apart again. The whole process was repeating over and over again, causing horrifying amounts of pain. All the while, I was screaming my lungs out, trying to pretend that maybe, maybe if I yelled my heart out it would stop. But it didn't.

I became vaguely aware of a loud cracking; something that sounded like the cracking of bones. The pain that now attacked my legs was testimony that it was indeed the sound of my own bones breaking. That, coupled with the pain from my shoulder was enough to drive me over the edge.

I would have taken Laurent any day.

I would have picked James.

I would have been tortured every day for the rest of my life if it meant getting this... this searing pain out of my system.

My legs broke and rebuilt themselves, stretching them out. James could have snapped my legs as many times as he wanted; nothing could compare to the pain that was attacking my legs, and now my arms.

Bones broke louder than before, probably because of my proximity to the noise. Every single bone in my limbs, from the pinky finger to the thigh bone was cracking and rebuilding, cracking and rebuilding over and over and over again. I held my mouth open and attempted to scream to no avail. The waves of pain that plagued my extremities were probably too much for my brain to handle.

I felt a sense of relief as the pain slowly but surely drifted from my toes and fingers. But, then the tumultuous waves of pain attached themselves to my hips and shoulders. My body creaked, groaned, shrieked and every other noise imaginable in protest. I could feel it, my hips were rearranging themselves, and the pain was crawling up from my legs into my stomach. I didn't know whether to feel relief or disdain as the pain flicked on and off in my legs, but grew in my torso. After a very long while, though, the pain had disappeared from my limbs and was now beginning to crawl up my collar and into my neck.

I could feel the freezing bite of the wind as it blew against my bare legs and midsection. Apparently I was naked. Not that I cared much, though, because you could put me stark naked on a glacier and I probably wouldn't have noticed.

The pain crawled up my throat, effectively silencing my screams of terror. It was making its way up to my head... _Will it kill me? Stupid question. Of course it would._

I felt my jaw being broken and stretched out, along with my nose. My entire face was being expanded forward, but muzzle more than anything. I was beginning to become aware of a pounding and ripping in my ears. This, I soon found out was the actual ripping of the ears themselves.

The pain had all but subsided, and I allowed myself a sigh of relief. _Maybe it's finally over..._

I was wrong. I felt a faint pin prick on my foot; so faint I almost laughed. After all I've been through, you could have cut off my arm and I wouldn't have noticed.

But the pin prick was followed by another, and another, and yet another, until my whole body felt like it was on fire. I couldn't have imagined a worse fate than mine. It wouldn't stop. It just wouldn't stop. _It was never going to end, was it?_

But, much to my surprise, it did. It just stopped. No warning, none at all. But I guess the pain decided that it was through with me. I had enough pain for a lifetime.

I opened my eyes and sat there shell shocked for a few minutes. Everything was so perfectly clear. I could see individual blades of grass from a mile away, and could smell the ashes of Laurent from where I was sitting. The leaves on trees a hundred feet tall were visible, and if I felt like it I probably could have counted them individually.

I slowly lifted myself up on my legs. I found that my upper torso was too heavy for my legs alone, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that the length of my arms let me put my weight comfortably on all fours.

I looked around. I literally towered over anything that wasn't a tree. A human probably wouldn't reach the size of my arm. I tried to laugh, but it came out like a bark. I didn't mind much. I never liked my voice anyway.

Everything around me was in black and white. Not one bit of color anywhere, even though I could see much clearer than before. The trees, the grass, the everything. But if this made any sense, I could see colors when I looked for auras. I saw a tower of blue, a purple flame, along with a huge halo of forest green. I also saw a very faint, actually extremely faint glow of a... New color?

The color danced around in a particular pattern. I had never seen a color like this before. It was beyond visibility, a color in the ultraviolet spectrum, yet there it was clear as day. It fascinated me. But it was much too far away. Much, much too far away to be in even the same country.

The green, blue and purple auras were much nearer, however. I padded myself on four legs toward the new auras. They seemed to be coming closer, and fast.

I cantered with an interest to the forest clearing. The pile of ash itself had an aura of dull orange. But that didn't hold nearly as much brightness as the three auras approaching me rather quickly.

Suddenly three beings broke through the clearing. One was a blonde, female vampire, followed quickly by a bigger, brunette male vampire. The latter was being tracked by a large, but still insignificant grey wolf.

Needless to say their small sizes made me lose attention rather quickly. I was much more fascinated with the pyramid of darkness off in the distance. It was still very far away, maybe not as far as the fascinating pool of a new color but still too far away to be bothered with. So I settled on the three in front of me.

Upon closer scrutiny I found that they looked vaguely familiar somehow. I didn't know who until the big vampire approached me with his mouth wide open and his arms held up in a gesture of peace. The blue tower that surrounded him was still.

"B...Bella?" The blue aura said.

My ears perked up when I heard my name. I didn't care much for the name itself, just that the small creature had the audacity to approach me when I was clearly larger, stronger and more able than he was.

"Bella, it's me...Emmett. Remember me?"

_Silly creature_, I snorted. _Of course I remembered you. You're the one who brought me here in the first place._

"I'm gonna take that snort as a yes," the purple aura from behind said. She wasn't one to talk. Her aura was like a flame, while the blue one's was like a huge tower. The green one's was...

A wolf padded in front of me. He seemed to hesitate, before his aura exploded and changed into a lighter green. In the wolf's place was a tall tan child. I staggered back due to the abrupt change in color. Who knew they could do _that_?

"Bella, we're not here to hurt you," the tall boy said.

I rolled my eyes. As if any of them could hurt me.

Emmett stepped up. "Remember Rosalie? And Embry?"

I nodded. They struck a chord with me.

The large vampire continued. "Well, we're gonna take you home, then we're gonna pack our bags and go to London, alright? We just need you to turn back."

Turn back? _Turn back?_ He was crazy. I didn't know how to turn back.

"Em, she has no idea how to turn back," the blonde vampire stated venomously.

"Oh... That could be a problem..."

_Problem indeed._ I let the two pathetic vampires and the circus freak simmer it out for a bit. I wasn't going to comply, of course. Instead, I leaned down and lay in the grass. I was tired, so I would sleep.

~0o0~

I awoke abruptly, my breaths heaving and labored. I shook my head to get rid of the moisture. Someone had dropped a bucket of water on me.

"'Ey! Bella's finally up!" Embry said.

"It's about time!" I heard Emmett say from the room next to mine. I watched Emmett emerge from the doorway and approach me carefully.

"How're you feeling, Bells?" He looked at me with concerned eyes.

"Good. Why? Why wouldn't I be fine?" I felt perfectly fine. I didn't see why that had to change.

Embry, Emmett and now Rosalie's jaws dropped. I felt confused. What had happened?

"Bella, don't you remember anything that happened?" The blonde vampire asked.

Come to think of it, I did remember a bit. I remember pain. Then everything being in black and white save for the auras surrounding some objects. And this wonderful shade of who knows what dancing on the edge of the horizon...

I cut off my thoughts. Sure enough, the auras of the three were still visible, though I wasn't... Whatever I had turned into. Rosalie had a faint purple flame, Embry had a halo of pale green, and Emmett was encased in a faint tower of sky blue. I needed to ask.

"What the fuck happened last night?"

Emmett looked to the others before looking back to me.

"Well, you kind of..."

"Went wolf!"Embry interrupted.

"What do you mean, 'went wolf'? What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" I was getting pretty pissed.

Emmett sighed. He looked to Rosalie, who walked rapidly to another room and back, holding a mirror. For some reason, they didn't seem to blur anymore. They just moved faster.

She held it out for me to take. I stared into my features in the mirror. My face had reverted back to normal, but not without some significant changes. For one, my once brown eyes were now bright yellow, and my canines were significantly enlarged. I didn't look too out of place, though, and for that I was glad.

The biggest flaw was a huge, foot long bite mark running from my shoulder and neck down past my collarbone. The holes made by the teeth were tender, and pained to the touch. _No more tank tops for me._

Out of all of us I was in last place in terms of looking normal. Embry was in first followed by Emmett and Rosalie. I felt like asking one more question.

"Wha...What am I?"

Emmett grabbed my hand, and the tower surrounding him twirled in an unknown emotion.

"... We don't know... But we know you aren't human anymore."

I blanched. Not human anymore. If I'm not human, then what... _What the hell am I?_

I continued looking in the mirror for a long period of time before Rosalie broke the silence.

"The flight is in six hours. We're going hunting. We feel okay with Bella staying here with you, Embry, because we're sure Bella can... Take care of herself now," She said, before her an Emmett both walked out the door.

~0o0~

For the next few hours, I stopped thinking coherently. My thinking was reduced to simple problem solution thoughts, so most of my day went by like this:

_I am hungry; I will eat._

_I am still hungry; I will eat more._

_I am still still hungry; I will call room service and demand they bring me food._

_I am still hungry; I will eat Embry. No, that's a bad idea. I will eat more food._

_I am tired; I will sleep._

When I awoke from my nap, Embry was crouched over me, tugging at my shirt.

"Bella!" He whined. "Emmett and Rosalie are here, and if you don't get up, Rosalie threatened to castrate me..."

"Chill, buddy, I'm up..." I lifted my weight up with some effort, got up off the couch and grabbed my bag, which was already near the door. Emmett called out from down the hallway.

"Let's go, the flight leaves in thirty minutes!"

We both ran with our bags down to the car. Rosalie knew we would look strange, going on a twelve hour flight to London with nothing but carry-ons, so she filled empty suitcases with clothing and other travel items. We would leave them at the airport, and seeing as they had no identification, no one would be the wiser.

The car ride was short, Embry and I riding in the backseat while Rose and Emmett rid in the front, with Rosalie driving. We were going an average of sixty in a forty-five zone, so I was surprised when we got to the airport with no issues. _Maybe it was Emmett scaring the cops off._

The gates closed as soon as we got through. We made our way to the plane, which was relatively empty. Emmett volunteered to sit with me to try to explain my... Unique condition. Rosalie and Embry sat behind us, with Rosalie at the window seat and Embry near the aisle.

Emmett began his list of explanations.

"Okay... Where to start..."

"You could start explaining what happened."

"Oh. Well, you were bitten, obviously, and then you turned into a werewolf." He explained, like it was totally normal for this to happen.

The purple flame behind me flickered in annoyance. "Tell her the whole truth, Emmett."

"Well, you were bitten, you turned into a werewolf, passed out, and while you were out, you slowly began turning back to normal."

Embry snorted behind me. His green halo grew and shrunk disproportionally, also due to annoyance. "You were the biggest wolf I had ever seen. Not like the rest of us down at the Rez, but you were huge, girl. You made Sam look like a puppy," he snickered.

Although I was mildly curious about the wolves down at the Reservation, from what I could gather they weren't like me. I had never experienced changing before now. And also, my phasing was extremely long and painful. I had no genetic trait of the sort that made you change. Quileute phasing was instantaneous and painless, looked like. They had genes that made them change into werewolves. _No, no I wasn't like them. Not at all. _

Pretty soon, the human passengers fell asleep one by one, including Embry. I was too focused on trying to figure out what I was to even attempt to go to sleep. I stared out the window as clouds gently floated by.

_Clouds..._ I turned my head to stare at the humans in the cabin. Their auras were in grayscale, nowhere near the vibrance of the three beings that sat next to me, but at the same time also not touching the depth that the black pyramid had. I remembered the shade clearly. Pitch black, and in a large pyramid shape. That was pretty hard to miss. I kept focusing on the steady hum and twists of the aura in front of me. It was a grey diamond that hung over the human's head, and while he slept it gently stirred and twisted, lulling me to sleep.

~0o0~

I awoke to find Emmett shaking my shoulder.

"Bella, get up, we're here!" He said, excitedly.

I rubbed my eyelids and yawned. "Okay, I'm goin'..." I took the hand he offered and tried to shake the sleep off as I followed Emmett, Embry and Rosalie to the gate. My bag clung limply to my shoulder.

The airport was fairly crowded, but something else nipped at my insides as the four of us made our way out of the gates.

I gasped in happiness upon seeing the proximity of the mysterious ultraviolet aura that poured into the sky. Hey, it was still far away, but definitely visible against the foggy London sky. It behaved much like a stream of water against a wall would. Its movements held my attention closely, and I was utterly delighted to find it moving closer and closer to me. Not fast enough, though.

Emmett placed a hand in my field of vision and moved it up and down.

"Hello? Earth to Bella!" He stepped behind me and put his chin on my shoulder. "Whatcha starin' at?" He chortled.

"The... The color..."

He stepped back and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, it's called grey, Bella. Let's go, Rose caught a cab."

The human cab driver was dazed by Rosalie's inhumane beauty. He had to wipe his chin several times because of the spit that escaped his mouth. It was disgusting.

"W...where to?"

"The best apartment complex you can find," She responded in a low, sultry tone. I had no idea how she could make that sound sexy, but she did.

The cab driver was sweating profusely by the time we got to said apartment complex. He was in such a daze that he didn't even collect the pay before zooming down the road again.

"Just as well, I didn't have any money anyway," Rosalie laughed, and we all joined her.

Upon entering the apartments, we found that they were indeed very nice. The staff quickly led us to a huge suite, and made their way off after giving us a tour. Or, mainly giving Rosalie and Emmett the tour.

The apartment was modern and spacious, equipped with many different gaming systems (to Emmett and Embry's delight), a large kitchen (I was overjoyed) and three huge bedrooms. We all knew who would be sharing one.

Emmett and Embry were the first to settle down, once room service had arrived to tend to our needs. Much too early it seemed. Seems word got out of Rosalie living in suite 364. I was second, easing into a sofa that was placed next to the huge window wall. Rosalie was last, throwing out the excessive amounts of mints and chocolates she had received from the staff. Emmett had gotten his fair share too, but apparently there were more males in this apartment complex. Not that some of them seemed to care.

It was easy to settle down because watching the new aura dance across the sky was like watching television. But somehow more personal. I furrowed my brows while thinking of all the possibilities the aura could be. It remained a mystery.

~0o0~

I was sitting happily at the window a few hours later, content with gazing at the odd fluctuations of the ultraviolet aura. It seemed to be hopping all over the place. It kept moving all over the horizon; almost like it was looking for something—or someone.

"What are you staring at?" Emmett asked from the chair next to the armrest where my head was placed.

"There are... The... Let me explain what I'm seeing," I began. He hunched over, elbows on his knees, keen with interest.

"Ever since..."I touched the scar on my neck, "Ever since I was bitten, I've been seeing these...auras," I explained.

"They're all different shapes and patterns and colors, and they're all unique to the person. For example, yours is a huge, sky blue tower that keeps you in a box. Rosalie's is a purple flame, and Embry's is a huge green ring that changes shade when he phases. He was a really dark green as a wolf, but his aura turned to like a leafy greenish color while he's human," I elaborated.

"But there are these two auras that bother me," I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. "There's this huge, pitch black pyramid coming in that direction," I pointed to the direction of the apartment door, "And there's this other one... It's a color I had never seen before. It's like in the ultraviolet spectrum, but I guess it's kind of got like a yellowish feel. It's an aura that's driving me crazy because it's everywhere at once. The first time I look it might be on that end of the horizon," I pointed to where the strange aura was now, and followed it with my finger. "And then it might suddenly change direction and move somewhere else. It's driving me crazy," I huffed. He looked at me with acknowledgement.

"Well I guess the black pyramid could be whatever bit you. You were pointing in the direction of America. And I'm not sure I know what that other one is. It seems kind of weird. But," He looked at me and laughed. "Then again this is also coming from the werewolf thing seeing colors."

I couldn't help but smile.

Emmett continued. "If your kind is anything like ours, then what you have is probably a gift. Vampires have gifts, why shouldn't werewolves? Your gift is seeing auras, I bet. And that, coupled with your unreadable mind; those could be your gifts. "

"So I could be a freak were-thing with a gift for seeing the colors of a person's soul," I paused to raise an eyebrow, "And you'd be totally okay with it?"

He shrugged. "My brother reads minds. My sister is a fortune teller. My other brother has a feminine problem," He laughed. "Why shouldn't my best friend have a color fetish?"

My eyes widened. "Seriously?"

He shrugged again. "'S not like I've had a lot of chances to socialize before," He said.

I grinned. For once I felt like I had a place. "Thanks, Em."

He smiled before getting up. "Don't mention it. I think you should eat and get some sleep though, your stomach's been growling all..." He paused to look at the sky, which held a near full moon in the middle of it. "Night. You need to eat."

I made my way over to the fridge before taking out a hotel frozen pizza and a can of RC cola. There were only two in the fridge, and I knew how much Embry ate, so I put them both in the oven and turned it up to 300 degrees like it said. Emmett disappeared, leaving me alone in the living room and parlor. Even against the dark night sky, the mystery aura danced around. I bit my lip and ran my hand through my hair.

_What could that possibly be?_

_

* * *

_

**Nother A/N:** I dunno, who do YOU think it could be :P the black pyramid is the werewolf that bit Bella. We'll be seeing him again in about two chapters. But... Guess who shows up NEXT CHAPTER? I have so many places I want to take this fic. So many ideas for it. If I write them well then this fic will fly. I'm kind of worried though. The writing isn't nearly as good as I want it to be. I'm going to try to improve, and make a conscious effort to not make too many grammar mistakes. (LazyWerewolf forgets that it has zero knowledge or patience for grammar.) I'm kind of torn between the ups and downs of having a beta. Not sure.

Song for today is Hysteria by Muse. Fic for today is Hollowgo's Broken Aurora. Still snowed in. I agree, southern states have no patience for snow. (Southern States forget that LazyWerewolf is Italian and doesn't care that it's cold). I think I'm gonna make this a thing. I'm not sure yet.

I think I'm going to write a oneshot for Caius. I might make it called Hunting the Children. It might have logs of information on the werewolves in this story. It also might have a whole mess of spoilers. I dunno yet. And maybe if you're lucky I might update later today too :D I have a lot of ideas running through my head.

Cheers,

The Lazy Werewolf

*(Lazywerewolf pitches Internet cookie in the direction of Ash)*


	7. Not the Face

**Title: Cut the Ropes**

**Author:** LazyWerewolf

**DISCLAIMER:** See chapter 2

**A/N:** This is where the M rating comes in. Emmett and Rosalie have been kind and gracious enough not to burst through a wall though. Don't worry, I can't write smut… But I can write loud noises :D lol. Are you ready for the most disturbing sight evarrr? No, not Em and Rose getting it on. Carnivores! Hooray for meat eaters! There isn't really much here, save for one key event. Sorry for the lack of action, but this fic needs a cool down moment. As for the beta thing, I think you should be able to hold out. What matters is the content, but if grammar really bothers you that much then I don't see why you can't just stop reading... I mean, come on. There's 167 pages of fics, I think you can probably find one with perfect grammar. But I'll be damned if you find another fic like mine. No, seriously. Go look for one, and if you find one tell me, cause I want to know. Really.

One more thing. Today you'll get to meet the mysterious ultraviolet aura. Two chapters in one day. You should be proud of me. See you at teh bahtom.

* * *

**Not the Face**

After being bitten, I found that I grew nocturnal. I started falling asleep at around five in the afternoon and waking up twelve or fourteen hours later. My life was turning upside down slowly, and pretty soon I was spending the day sleeping and the night playing video games with Emmett and Embry.

I walked into my room to go to sleep, wearing street clothes. The covers settled around me and I laid on my stomach to pass out on the bed. But some rumbling from the wall caught my attention. The wall was shaking, and I really thought it was an earthquake. Then the painting on the wall above my head fell. I shook it off and jumped out of the covers and into the hallway. Embry was there too, wiping the sleep from his eyes.

"What the hell's happening?"

"I don't know…" I trailed off as escalating moans escaped the door of Emmett and Rosalie's room. We both heard a thud, and then the shaking stopped. It shortly continued, shaking the floor now. It finally dawned on me what was happening.

"Aw, EEEEEEWWW!" Embry and I simultaneously screamed. We both sprinted for the door at the same time, grabbed our shoes and ran straight out of the apartment. I could still hear and feel the shaking.

"Damnit, they're disgusting…" I said as I leaned against the apartment railing and put a pair of black converse on.

"I know, right?" Embry was wearing a pair of grey basketball shorts and a green Billabong tee shirt. He was putting on a pair of pretty sleazy looking Nikes.

"You know what? Let's just go," I started walking down the open hallway, grazing my hand against the railing. "I've heard a whole mess of horror stories about the things they do to houses while they're trying to make babies."

Embry followed, and we both made our way down the stairs, walking toward the London streets.

"Hey, you know I was watching a movie," Embry said as we finally reached ground level of the apartment.

"Oh really?" I stated. The average London clouds covered up the sun. The city didn't look much different from others, save for the historical monuments.

"Yeah, wanna know what it was called?" Embry followed my down the side walk. I had no idea where I was going, but I had a right mind to explore this place. It was, I guess, my new home.

"Shoot, wolf-boy," I said.

"An American werewolf in London," he cracked up then as we continued walking. Come to think of it, it was pretty ironic.

I chuckled. "Wow. Someone's mature," I stated sarcastically.

"Hey, don't mock my sense of humor," He said through laughs. We had reached a crossroad but were on the wrong side to cross.

I shoved him to the side. "Left sidewalk, moron. It's London, everything's backwards, remember?"

He ruffled his hair as we ran quickly to the other side of the road. "Damn Brits," he said. Everyone waiting for the light to flash green turned in his direction. He shuffled uncomfortably.

"I know. I hate grits too," I said, trying to save him from further embarrassment. People turned away, and Embry murmured quiet thanks as we walked down the street.

The two of us were surrounded by small shops and quaint restaurants. But we didn't need those. We needed a huge, cheap all you can eat buffet because the two of us were starving. With Embry's raging appetite and my new need for food we both were starving just ten minutes after leaving the house.

The two of us walked around, hoping to find some sort of magical food source when we came upon a moderately large restaurant, sure enough with the "All you can Eat" sign over it. When we entered we found that it was a relatively quiet restaurant, still buzzing with activity, but not as loud as it looked from the outside. The food however, was everywhere. It was a mutual thought that this would suffice.

I don't know how much food we both ate, or how many plates were cleared from the table. We were going to get our last plate of food when a man in a black dress shirt and pants approached our table very shyly.

"Um…Excuse me, miss? Mister?" He said in a British drawl. "I'm afraid you've both exceeded the limit for food… You two are going to have to leave…"

Embry sat up, looking outraged. "This is an all you can eat restaurant! You can't kick us out because we're eating too much!" The manager flinched back. You had to give the kid props for being so scary.

"I'm afraid I'll have to call security if you don't leave," The man said. Embry looked ready to say something else, but I cut him off.

"I'm sorry sir, we'll go, right Embry?" Embry looked my way, but I stood up and started to leave. As I reached the door of the restaurant, Embry caught up.

"We could have taken him," He said in a mocking voice. I rolled my eyes.

Suddenly a voice from behind us spoke up.

"Hell yeah, you could've. Puny human plus balls equals werewolf. You could've totally taken him," Emmett appeared instantly in front of us.

"Oh, so you two are finally done. That's great. Now, do we have anything to do or do we just…" I trailed off.

"Naw, we just moved here! We're not here on like, diplomatic terms or anything, we're just here to get away from the giant wolf thing and the coven of vampires, is all," Emmett chuckled.

"Shut up. So, what'd you guys planned?" I looked back at Emmett.

"…Nothing."

"Seriously dude?" Embry spoke up from behind me.

"Hey it's not like I plan these things out in advance! I just do it. Like Nike."

Rosalie appeared in front of us as well. She crossed her arms across her chest in a frustrated gesture. Her purple flame flickered. "We're gonna have to find some way to pass the time. And I've actually never visited London, for fear of the Volturi," She explained.

Emmett shrugged. "I think we should go exploring! That would be awesome!" He said. Embry seemed to get exited too. His green halo spun rapidly and grew.

"Yeah, cool! I've never been outside the Rez before. Everything's so cool," Embry said. We all stared at him like he was crazy.

"Seriously? Man that would suck, having to live in one place all the time," Emmett stated. We all started walking down the sidewalk of a London street, headed toward Big Ben.

"It did suck," Embry continued walking. "The elders never let us leave. The only exception was Jake, 'cause old man Black was his dad."

I wanted information. "What made Jake phase in the dance?" The Palace of Westminister was only four lights straight ahead.

Embry laughed. "Jake was having his first phase. The pack was worried, especially because Jacob was supposed to be the first to phase." I raised an eyebrow.

He continued elaborating. "Jacob is the descendant of Ephraim Black. Ephraim Black was a direct descendant of Taha Aki, along with Levi Uley and Quil Ateara the first."

Emmett snorted as we came to a stop on the red light. "I remember those bastards. Stuck up and stupid. All of them."

Embry rolled his eyes. He didn't seem to care much. "Well, anyway, the Blacks are supposed to be the alphas of the pack. But since Sam changed first, he became the alpha even though he's a Uley."

"Sounds like a bad soap opera."

Embry nodded. "Yeah. Terrible stuff. Sam was always paranoid Jacob would take his alpha-ness from him. It was pretty sad."

Emmett interrupted, putting his arms around me and Embry's shoulders. "Sure it was! Well, let's go, I want to see the British people."

We had walked all the way from the restaurant to the front of the Westminister Palace. Emmett looked overjoyed, his blue tower aura spinning rapidly.

London was a place for vampires, not werewolves. The perpetual fog made it easy to hide the glow a vampire's skin had. The streets had plenty of homeless people nobody would miss. The only problem with London was that our vampires weren't carnivores. We had vegetarian vampires, so no matter how many homeless people roamed the street, Emmett and Rosalie would always have to travel for miles to find a decent forest. London was particularly historic, though we had yet to see a vampire. The Westminister palace was the perfect place for a vampire, seeing as it had plenty of holes to hide in, and had plenty of room for not just one, but a coven of vampires. _Not that there were any in there,_ I thought.

We were walking along the outer hallways of the Westminister Palace. Rosalie was flicking the wall as she walked, creating small indents in the stone. Emmett took note of this and stepped over to the female vampire.

"Rose, baby, don't destroy historical monuments. You know what happened last time."

This caught Embry's attention. "What happened last time?"

Rosalie turned to face him. "Have you ever heard of the Winged Victory of Samothrace?" I nodded, but Embry shook his head no.

"Yeah. I happened."

I grimaced. "Jesus, Rosalie. Temper, temper."

She smirked. "Well, it was ugly anyway."

The rest of the walk was in silence. We stepped through the huge outdoor hallway, nearing the entrance. There was a long line to get tickets. Tickets to what, I had no idea. But then again, we had nothing better to do, so Emmett, Rosalie and I waited while Embry got tickets. If anyone but Embry were to go buy tickets, it would probably arouse suspicion. After all, if I were to pick the most normal out of a group of two incredibly beautiful vampires, a yellow-eyed werewolf and a half-human, I would pick the human.

Embry approached the ticket counter almost thirty minutes after he got in line. He said some barely audible things to the cashier behind the glass. I was surprised that I could hear him, seeing as how I was at least one hundred feet away and looking at him past a crowded street. He looked like he waved thanks to the cashier, and he held up four tickets and waved to us.

"You guys!" Embry was waving the tickets in the air furiously.

Rosalie and Emmett started walking toward him. "Okay, okay wolf boy. Don't talk so loud." Rosalie blurred past the row of cars, and for a second I felt like I was flying. I regained my balance on my feet and turned to look at a smiling Emmett rubbing the back of his head.

"Saves time. Let's go," Emmett took my hand and walked to where Embry was giving Rosalie her ticket. Embry handed Emmett and I our respective tickets, and we now waited at the line to get in. I believed it was ten forty at night by the time we reached the actual entrance. Rosalie turned to glare at the boy manning the entrance. He audibly gulped, and started sweating at the brow.

"I'm sorry, miss, but the exhibit is closed after ten thirty," the boy said. He was sweating like crazy in less than thirty seconds. It was probably due to Rosalie's glare. _I mean, seriously, if looks could kill..._ Her nostrils were flaring. "You can come back...tommorrow...?" The statement came out like a question, due to Rosalie's death glare.

Emmett tapped an invisible watch on his wrist. "Yeah, ten thirty. Rose, we gotta be getting home soon," Emmett stated, in an attempt to get Rosalie to leave the poor boy alone. Rosalie reluctantly forced her gaze on some poor parking meter. She sped off, Emmett running after her.

"I'm going hunting!" She screamed. Even from this far away, you could hear Emmett shushing her, trying to get her to stop walking at such an inhuman speed. This left me and Embry.

"Come on," I said. "We have to get back to the apartment soon. It would be just weird if humans were out after eleven."

Embry scoffed. "What're you talking about? There are plenty of humans out during midnight! The night is still young, Bella!" He pleaded to stay.

I sighed, and ran my hand through my hair. _Old habits die hard, I guess. _"What I meant by that is that _underage _humans wouldn't be out past eleven."

His shoulders slumped dramatically in defeat, but he perked up. "I'm not going to bed, though. How 'bout a few rounds of COD?"

Walking off in the direction of the apartment, I tugged him along with me. "Sure." I laughed inwardly. _What's the harm in a few rounds? Not like anything's gonna happen..._

~0o0~

Nothing did happen, however the next time I looked up from the screen and at a clock it was two in the morning. Embry yawned.

"One more, one more... I'll beat the shit out of you this time..."

I shook my head and wrenched the controller from his hands. "Nuh-uh. You're tired. Speaking of which, so am I. Bed. Rest neede..." My last word was cut off by a yawn.

Embry laughed drowsily. "Yeah...Probably right... I call bathroom..." He went into the bathroom to wash up. I shut down all of the game stations and the TV and waited on the couch. Before long, Embry had finished.

"Night, Bella!" He called out from his room before shutting the door.

I went straight into the bathroom. The first thing I did was relieve myself, and then I went to brush my teeth. Opening the tap, I was about to run the brush under the water when something caught my attention.

The color of my eyes was no longer bright yellow, as they were earlier in the day. They were dulled to a dark yellow. I opened my teeth to start brushing, but then I noticed something strange again. The sharp canines that were present earlier in the day had receded, no longer looking animalistic. My whole face looked almost normal. _What's happening..._

I decided that it was too late at night to care. My small problem—_Scratch that, huge problem,_ would still be there in the morning. No matter how much I wanted it to be gone. I finished up in the bathroom, but I didn't go into my room. Instead, I settled for the couch facing the wide window-wall.

Lying down on the couch, I was about to throw the covers over my head and call it a night, but then a flash of color caught my attention. It was the strange ultraviolet aura. And it was much closer to where I was than it was yesterday. In fact, it was so close that it covered everything else. It looked like it was here in the city.

I got up abruptly, and ran toward the window. I looked out to see that my suspicions had been correct. The aura was in the city! _I need to see it! NOW!_

I reverted back to my "problem solution" thinking.

_Window. Open. Get out. Now._

I pulled a chair over to the wall. Near the top of the window-wall were vents leading to outside. I slowly pried it open with my fingers, delighting in finding the cool London air hitting my fingertips. Grabbing onto the small ledge, I pulled myself up in a remarkable feat of strength (at least for me. I had never done a pull-up in my life.), reveling in the cool breeze hitting my face. I looked to see the aura closer than ever. Then, my instincts took over.

I had no idea what was driving me to go nearer to it. I released the ledge of the window, jumping onto a rooftop and landing on my feet. _Where the fuck did that come from? _I ran across the roof, stepping on the ledge and jumping on to yet another rooftop.

I felt instincts beginning to override my thoughts. My nails were growing, but I couldn't feel pain. I also felt my canines lengthen again, and my vision became clearer. I could see the orange glow of the London lights from a mile away.

The rooftop dash continued, with me jumping onto each consecutive roof, one time almost falling due to the distance. My new thoughts gave me grace and agility. I pegged it to be a side effect of the werewolf venom. Flying past the rooftops was a liberating feeling. I remember seeing videos of freerunners running on roofs and chimneys, but I had always thought that if I attempted it I would probably fall and die. And here I was, running at full blast at a pace far faster than human speed, jumping across rooftops and landing surely on my feet.

I had almost forgotten why I was running until I caught sight of the strange aura again. I growled. _You're not getting away from me again,_ I thought. I increased my pace to far beyond human speed until I caught sight of where the aura actually was.

It originated from a roof about a dozen rooftops away. This would be easy. I crossed several rooftops in a matter of seconds. _One...two...three...four... _I quickly sped past rooftops. The aura was almost in my grasp.

_Ten...Eleven...Twelve!_ I slowed down when I reached the last rooftop. Sitting on the ledge was a short girl with a spiky haircut. Something rung a bell about her. She was hunched over on the ledge with her feet hanging over the rooftop. The aura danced around her slowly. I didn't know whether or not she was aware of my presence, but either way she was very calm.

I allowed my voice to break the silence. "...What're you doing so late out?" I spoke slowly and calmly, but either way her aura flickered.

"I was going to ask the same of you."

The mystery girl turned around, revealing a small, angelic face. The most striking feature she held was her eyes. Her eyes were a bright crimson, which widened upon examining me. Her voice lost all traces of the calmness she held before.

"B...Bella?" The girl lifted herself up with ease. I looked at her, trying to remember where I had seen her before. After a few seconds, it finally dawned on me who she was.

"...Alice..." I breathed. She zoomed over to me, grabbing my face in her hands. She gingerly touched my cheek before she wrapped her arms around my shoulders. I hugged her back, my arms finding her waist. Her delightful aura wrapped around me as well, creating the strangest sensation I had ever felt. I was overcome by an urge to never let her go. The aura curled around us both, holding us in a cocoon of whatever color it was. She released a small noise, much like a cross between a sigh and a sob.

"B-Bella..." Her vampiric strength would have crushed me, were it not for my newfound powers. She pressed her nose into my neck, breathing in deeply as she entangled her fingers in my hair. I allowed myself to do the same, my right arm clutching her waist tightly and my left arm trailing up her back before my hand settled in her hair. She started shaking, and I heard small, choked sobs coming from her body.

"I'm sorry...I'm so, so sorry..." I kept my hold on the vampire's body.

"Sorry for what? You didn't do anything wrong," I mumbled into her hair.

"I left you... I should have never left... You meant so much to me..." She trailed off and moved her arms from my shoulders to my neck. I had to hunch slightly down to keep hold of her.

"Ssh... You never did anything wrong, Alice, it's not your fault," I pleaded. It was a bit inarticulate, but that was because I was trying to breathe in as much of her scent as possible.

Alice leaned back and looked at me. Her crimson eyes were watering, but no tears were falling. "Bella, I did everything wrong," She said, her voice cracking. "I could have stayed. But I didn't. Bella you're not even human anymore! I can smell it..."

I didn't like seeing her this way. It caused me pain and stirred my heart. "Yeah. Bella Swan is now a werewolf. What of it?" She loosened her hold on my neck even further, until we were hugging from arms length.

"A...Werewolf? So that's what you are? But... They're supposed to be extinct!" She didn't seem as surprised as I thought she would be. I examined her from arms length. She hadn't changed at all. Her skin was a little bit paler, her hold on me stronger than it should have been. Her irises were a bright crimson. It never dawned on me how beautiful she was. But, then again I never had a good look at her until now.

I smiled. "Well, obviously, they're not. Can't you notice anything different about me?" I widened my eyes for emphasis. I tried to make the bright yellow irises as visible as possible to the small vampire, which wasn't hard to do. I also bared my teeth, showcasing the long canines.

She gasped quietly, and put one hand over her mouth. Alice slowly backed away from me, looking hurt. I couldn't possibly understand why, though. Her aura was all over the place, whipping furiously around her. It was careful to steer clear of me, though. My heart ached from the loss of contact.

"I'm a monster now. I didn't get prettier, or stronger, or faster. I'm just a stupid werewolf. But what I want to ask is," I took a step toward her as her aura twirled around even more violently. "What do you think of me?"

The small vampire seemed to contemplate what to do. Her aura was still acting maniacally, knocking through several buildings and disrupting the auras of some unsuspecting humans below.

Suddenly, a blonde male leaped over the ledge of the rooftops, walking swiftly toward Alice. Alice's aura didn't faze, but her eyes widened. The blonde male reached her, and wrapped his arms around her waist. She leaned into his chest.

"I'm very glad to see you again, Bella," Jasper said. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

* * *

**Nother A/N: **Oh no he didn't! lol. There we are. This is where the fun begins. We'll be meeting the black pyramid were next chapter. And just to add more drama and pain for Bella, I threw Jasper into the mix. Yes, Jasper is still with Alice. I hate to take the easy way out of things and say "oh we divorced, just cause". It bothers me when authors take the easy way out. This fic will be as difficult as possible. You may have noticed that their eyes are red. Yes, yes I totally just turned Alice into a carnivore. And to answer one reviewer named Phoenix, yes, yes we will find out. But that's in a whole nother arc. This is the beginning of the Europe arc. We'll be travelling places. Next, we hit Africa, then we go back to America. Then, and only then will the forks dilemma be solved. Well actually it will be solved much before then, but the America arc is where we get to see the rest of the Olympic coven as well. You know what? I think maybe I'll leave Mr. Black Pyramid out until two chapters from now. Mr. Black Pyramid meeting Bella is the beginning of the Africa arc, you know? And also I'm spewing out way too many spoilers. Wow. LazyWerewolf stupid.

You know what? I'm making this a thing. Song for today is Be My Escape by Relient K. Fic for today is My Beloved Monster and Me by The Romantic Manifesto.

I've updated every single effing day. For six days in a row. I demand a break. LazyWere out.

Cheers,

The Lazy Werewolf

P.S. Phoenix, your profile picture thoroughly amuses me.


	8. Apathetic Empath

**Title: Cut the Ropes**

**Author:** LazyWerewolf

**A/N:** lol jk i lied :P I'm stuck at home today too. Thank god. I hate school. It took me so long to start this chapter. I know where I want to go, but not how to get there. It's gonna be tough. Stick with me though, this fic is gonna be the only one of its kind :) promise. And even though the decision to bring back Jasper caused some issues, it'll give Bella and Alice more time together :D but at the same time it'll cause some relationship problems. Angst FTW.

I know you're all secretly wondering. "Lazy, when's Alice and Bella's gonna bees togezzur?" That... Is what might make this fic lose some readers. Alice and Bella won't be together until after Jasper dies. Sorry. I know that might disappoint some of you :/ But I know where I'm headed with this. I want the two to fall in love naturally, plus some help with the whole new color thing :D

Hey, one more thing. If you have me on story alerts or on favorites, go down there and press review. I didn't want to beg, I just want some input. What do you like about this story, what do you hate, who do you want to punch through a wall... Anything. (I've given up on trying to get some people to stop saying "Great chapter, update soon" because no matter how many times I say it it'll always happen) good luck, and balls to you. (Anyone watch raywilliamjohnson?)

See you at teh bahtom.

* * *

**Apathetic Empath**

The blonde man's aura was a faint, navy blue lightning bolt. Imagine a thunderstorm, but from the ground up. That was what he looked like.

Jasper approached me and for the first time ever, took me in his arms and hugged me. "God forgive me, but I'm so happy to find you're not human anymore," he said in a light Southern drawl.

He stared at me from arm's length with a puzzled look on his features. "Bella, your emotions are all over the place... May I help you?"

He was right. My emotions were all over the place. I had happiness from seeing them, both of them, again. But mostly Alice. I'm not gonna lie. I was feeling anger. Lots of anger. A sort of envy. To what I had no clue. Fear, as my teeth started growing further, and my peripheral vision was beginning to fade into greyscale. And an intrusive wave of calm coming from the direction of the lightning bolt aura, which was slowly sending rays of blue at me.

"STOP MESSING WITH MY HEAD!" I stumbled backwards and landed on my ass. Jasper leaned over me, with a worried expression.

"I'm sorry, but you need to calm down. Your emotions are controlling you," he said in an attempt to calm me down.

_Fuck yeah they are!_ My vision was fading into greyscale and I was beginning to experience waves of extreme heat crawling down my spine. _I have to get out of here..._

I leapt from rooftop to rooftop again at a speed far beyond human pace. The two vampires were following; I could feel it. I kept my pace and felt a brush of air at my side as I heard a wonderful bell-chime voice pleading with me.

"Bella! Please! Let Jasper help you!"

I roared and swiped an arm in her direction. The gust of air was gone. I felt the heat grow, and grow further until it was covering my whole body. Then, just as I was getting ahead of the two, I stopped.

I heard the familiar cracking of bones as the waves of pain rolled over me again. _No... Please... Once is enough... _The pain was quick this time. Once it attacked all of my skeletal system at once, it then latched onto my muscles, expanding them. I let out a wail of pain as once again, the fire spread itself over my skin.

"Bella!" A voice behind me screamed. It was obviously female, but it made no difference. This was the voice of my natural enemy. The enemy that could slay me with a single bite. I had to get away. I knew I still had not completed the change, but I could care less. My instincts were screaming at me to flee.

I took off at my werewolf speed, jumping over London's rooftops. My speed far outmatched the beings behind me. I smiled inwardly. It felt like victory, defeating my mortal enemy in a race. The voices behind me trailed off.

I felt like I was flying. Soon I forgot why I was even running, just that I was having the most fun I had ever experienced. My tongue lolled out of my mouth, and I let out a loud bark as I leaped over yet another rooftop.

_She rolls up, jumps and lands yet another one!_ I silently cheered myself on. This part of being a werewolf I could get used to. I watched as cars unwittingly drove under my leap. There were thousands of people in London, and not one of them knew where or what I was! This encouraged me further.

I have to say that my confidence got the better of me on the next jump. I got ready for my biggest leap yet. Running full blast, I reared myself up on my hind legs and pushed myself off a ledge, the six lanes of cars below me still oblivious to my presence.

And then I smashed face first into a building.

The glass of the window shattered, and I lost my grip on the wall. I clawed at the stone of the building, hoping to find another hold, but nothing was there. The wall was slick.

I was falling downwards, rapidly approaching the traffic when I felt myself going up again.

_What the fuck?_ I thrashed in the strong granite arms. Looking up, I found that I could not see my captor, but I could see a tower of blue below them. I heaved a sigh of relief. This vampire, no matter than he was my enemy, had proved himself to be an ally. I let him carry my weight up toward another rooftop, before I saw a wildfire of purple approaching rapidly. The flames could put the Chicago fire to shame.

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING, YOU STUPID DOG!"

I felt a sharp kick hit my ribs. _I was thinking wolf, is what I was thinking, bitch. _The two auras were both flickering. The two vampires took a sniff of the air, and both their heads snapped to attention as they stared off toward the two auras I had left far behind.

The ultraviolet aura was still glued to the same place it had been before. However, it seemed to curl onto itself in pain. It was accompanied by a huge, rampaging indigo lightning storm. The two vampires next to me seemed to take note of this, and they left me on the rooftop, alone, as they set off toward the mystery auras.

I sat myself up on my hands. _What the fuck just happened?_ I felt like I just came off a high. My head hurt, my arms hurt, my legs hurt, everything hurt. My clothes were torn up, but I wasn't naked like the first time I phased. The moon peeked its way in between the clouds, lighting the grayness of the surrounding cityscape.

I had no idea where I was, and I was alone on a rooftop in a city I had never visited before in my life. This was great.

I looked off to the ultraviolet color, finding that it and the blue lightning storm had been confronted by the purple flame. The size of the first two auras paled in comparison with the fire. _The goddamn thing took up half the night sky!_ Rosalie could light the city on fire. The cyan tower that stationed itself next to her took a sharp turn to the left, and started moving in my direction.

Not that I cared much. I just leaned back down on the concrete roof. I watched the peculiar yellowish mystery aura curl into itself as the purple flames covered more and more of my field of vision. Soon, the silent hum of the crickets and cars drove me to sleep, but not before I felt a pair of capable arms wrap around me.

~0o0~

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU!"

I got up abruptly as a male voice broke my sleep. The argument was coming from the living room to our apartment. Embry was mad. Very mad.

"YOU BROUGHT ACTUAL BLOODSUCKING BLOODSUCKERS TO OUR HOUSE AND YOU EXPECT ME NOT TO REACT!"

I heard a small, shy bell chime voice in the mix. "It's actually an apartment..."

"Shut up Alice! You're not helping! I can't believe you started feeding on humans again!"

The auras were not visible through the walls, but I'm sure Rosalie's purple fire would have burned through all else.

A Southern drawl spoke up. "Don't you talk to my girl like that," it spoke sharply and angrily.

For some reason this pulled a heartstring. I was about to tell them to quiet down when a yawn escaped my lips. The door instantly opened, revealing Alice a few steps from the bed.

"Bella!" She screamed, much too loudly. She pounced on the bed, kneeling beside me and hugging my neck. I hugged back with one arm, seeing as how she was sitting on the other.

"H...Hey, Ali-cat," I managed to put out some words. She gasped, and hugged me even tighter, putting unnecessary strain on the arm she had pinned down.

_Ow._

"Ouch..." I grumbled. She didn't seem to hear as she started yelling out random words.

"Bella! Edward and Carlisle, the bones cracking, me and Jasper with the, and the wolf thing," she was spouting out words like crazy. She put even more pressure on my arm, causing it to fracture.

"Ow! Goddamnit, Alice you broke my arm! **FUCK**!" I yelled as she got off of the bed. I felt the familiar stings of the bones instantly repairing themselves. Jasper appeared at the doorway, chuckling.

"Spoken like a true lady," he said, laughing and making his way over to Alice, who was standing next to the bed. This blonde vampire was out to get me.

"Shut up, Colonel Bloodsucker," I growled from the bed. Alice giggled at the name. She pinched Jasper's arm.

"Yeah, Colonel. You're not helping," she giggled and scrunched up her nose. _Little pixie's adorable._

"You think this is funny?" Emmett burst through the doorway and slammed the door shut. Rosalie didn't attempt to open it; she just walked right through the wood like it was nothing. Splinters flew everywhere. She was stepping so hard that her stilettos left indents in the floorboards.

"I can't believe that you would be so irresponsible!" She growled. She took her place next to Emmett by the side of my bed, opposite to where Alice and Jasper were standing.

I saw Embry staring at the hole in the doorway. He mouthed "What the hell" while pointing at the Rosalie shaped hole that went through the edges of the door. I looked at him and mouthed "Rosalie" before he attempted to make his way through.

"I can't believe we trusted you!" he said once he crawled his way through the Rosalie sized hole in the door. "You said you didn't feed on humans!" he walked over to where Emmett and Rosalie stood.

"I can't believe WE trusted YOU!" Alice screamed at him. She jabbed a finger in Emmett, Rosalie and Embry's direction. "YOU were supposed to keep Bella safe. YOU were supposed to make sure she didn't die. YOU were supposed to make sure she stayed human. LOOK AT HER! **DOES SHE LOOK HUMAN TO YOU?"**

Emmett looked down in shame. Rosalie, however, just took a death glare and scowled at the shorter girl. "You joined Carlisle for a reason. You wanted to stop hurting humans, and save what little humanity you had left. You and Jasper made a pact with the coven, saying that you would hunt from animals instead of humans. You have **NO EXCUSE** FOR FEEDING ON THEM!"

I looked on. Apparently I was the boundary line for the two groups. Alice and Jasper stood on the left side of the bed, while Emmett, Rosalie and Embry stood on the right. It kind of made me feel important, like I was the diplomat helping resolve some sort of feud between two countries. I smiled inwardly.

It had come to my attention that after large periods of sleep after phasing, I turned back to normal. I mean, not normal enough to leave the apartment, but normal enough to get my voice and human features back. I bet my eyes were still yellow, and my teeth were still pointy. I sure as hell knew that my nails haven't gone back to normal because I was tearing holes in the sheets. If I had to guess, I would have said that I was about an inch or so taller than I had been yesterday. It looked like I was nearing Rosalie's height. I shifted a little on the bed, lifting myself up on my elbows. Alice looked my way and grabbed my hand.

"Bella...I'm so, so sorry," Alice looked at me with a torn expression. If she could cry, I knew she would've broken down, then and there. But then I took into account the color of her eyes. They were a deep burgundy. She _had_ been feeding on humans.

I gently wrenched my hand away, and saw her lip quiver. "Alice, how could you? I thought you weren't like that," I said softly. I didn't want her to be like that. I really didn't.

Jasper gently placed a hand on Alice's shoulders, pulling her toward his chest. He looked at me with a disgusted expression, and did the same to the other vampires and the half-wolf.

"That's enough. You may want to deny it, but we're not humans. We're monsters. All of us. No matter what you say, no matter what you do, no matter how hard you try to control it, there will always be that bloodlust inside you. It's only a matter of time before you too, give up. We have to leave, Alice," He took her hand and turned to walk out of what was left of the door, but Alice didn't budge.

Alice shook her head no when Jasper turned to walk out. She grabbed my hand again and pressed her back against the wall. Jasper looked sad, but his expression turned to anger.

"I'm going hunting," He said. Emmett and Rosalie simultaneously hissed, and Embry stepped up to him and growled.

"I am still under grounds to protect humans, even this far away from my pack," Embry looked menacing.

"You sure as hell aren't going hunting. Not alone. I'm going with you. There's a large forest a few miles out," Rosalie approached Jasper as well.

The blonde haired vampire knew he was outmatched. Two vampires and a Quileute werewolf could tear him apart in an instant, even with his knowledge and experience. He looked to Alice again, who was still clutching my hand in a death grip. Jasper knew that he had to comply, because if not, he would be torn up. He sighed in defeat, and walked out the destroyed door with Rosalie. Emmett followed.

This left Embry, Alice and I in my room. Alice turned to face me.

"Bella...What happened?" She was staring at my huge, very obvious bite mark. I was wearing only a grey tank top. I cursed myself for not wearing something that covered it up better.

"Werewolf happened," I responded. I knew it was probably around the early afternoon from the position of the sun. Alice was still holding on to my hand, rubbing circles with her thumb. Embry looked at Alice like he would look at a monster.

"Murderer," He hissed before he made his way out of the room.

Alice looked broken. She sat down on the edge of the bed. I felt as though I probably shouldn't be comforting her, mainly because the more rational side of me said that she _was_ a murderer and that she _should _feel guilty. But the other part of me died seeing the ultraviolet aura curl around Alice in a protective cocoon. _I know I shouldn't be doing this but, what the hell..._ I sat up further in the bed and gently pulled her into my chest. She started doing her weird vampire sobs and she curled her head under my chin.

"...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have ever stopped feeding from animals," She said. Her aura gently held me as I wrapped my arms around her back.

"I'm not gonna lie. I think it's wrong. I kind of want to know why," I said. I wasn't about to lie to her. She deserved much better than that.

She sighed into my neck. "I stopped because... I'm not quite sure why. I was just really thirsty. I didn't know what else to do. Jasper said it was okay. I just..." She stopped then. She was clutching the edges of my shirt like a lifeline. This felt...Right. I couldn't remember feeling like this before. Maybe it was just circumstance.

We sat like that for a while, her cold seeping through the blankets and cooling down my body. I forgot that I was at least part human, but I didn't want to ruin the moment, so I lifted the covers and wrapped them around Alice. She looked up at me, curious as to what I was doing.

"Um... Human moment. Gimme five minutes."

She nodded in understanding as I lifted myself up and examined the remnants of the door. I reached for the doorknob and pulled. The door fell off its hinges and hit the floor with a loud crash. Alice burst into a fit of giggles behind me. I was happy she was happy.

I took care of my human business, brushing my teeth as well. My eyes were a startling bright yellow color again. _Damnit. Stuck at home again._

I left the bathroom and down the hallway to see Alice cuddling into my covers, rolling around in my bed like a puppy. I laughed as she looked up. Her aura was curled around my covers as well. Her hair was pointing in all different directions, looking ridiculously disheveled. She had the cutest pout on her face ever. I almost didn't catch her blur over to my side, latching onto my elbow for support she didn't need.

She had my iPod in her right hand, and Emmett's large pair of "Beats" would have swallowed her head whole had she not adjusted them. She was humming a song by Radiohead. Her ultraviolet aura danced around her in a slow pattern. It had a slow, melodious tune, but her voice made it sound much better than the original. I knew her humming was several octaves higher than the voice, but it was still much better than the original. Much, much better.

I walked over to the kitchen, catching Embry watching TV. I was really, really hungry. My stomach agreed with me as it let out a roar. Alice giggled. She perched herself on the counter, and watched as I swallowed half a frozen pizza in a matter of seconds.

Alice's humming changed. Her humming was switching on and off between the Viva la Vida riff and Lady Gaga's Bad Romance. I had no clue what song she was listening to. I was sort of curious though, so...

"What're you—"

"Lady Gaga versus Coldplay electro remix," she promptly replied before I could finish. I huffed.

"I thought that—"

"No, my visions don't work with Quileute. But they work perfectly with you," She clearly stated.

"...H—"

"I don't know why."

_This little pixie is pissing me off_. "Could you let me—"

"Sure Bella! Of course I'll let you get a word in!" She giggled like crazy, scrunching up her nose. I rolled my eyes at her, and I moved to lean on the counter next to her.

"What brings you to—"

"London? Oh, well, I knew I had never visited London before, and I also knew..." She thought about how to phrase what she was going to say. "...the others could never visit here, so I just... yeah..." This was the first time I had ever seen Alice at a loss for words.

"Are you going to—"

"Yes. I don't want to drink from humans any more. It made me feel terrible; the way Emmett and Rose looked at me back there. I'm gonna go back to being vegetarian."

"I'm glad."

She smiled softly. "I don't know about Jazz, though. I think maybe he's lost control."

"'S okay. 'S not your fault."

Alice wrapped her arm around my neck and leaned on my head. She was only a bit taller than me sitting on the counter, so she used me as an armrest. "Thanks, Bells."

"So, how long will—"

"I be staying? As long as possible. I think, if Rose and Em will have me, I would stay here with you," She said. Just then, Emmett burst through the door and ran over to pick Alice up into a hug.

"YES! YES **YES! STAY,** PLEAAAAASE!" He yelled into her, as he picked her up and twirled her...several hundred times, I believe.

Alice was laughing as hard as she could with Emmett spinning her around. Rosalie entered soon after, crashing into Emmett and Alice.

"Oh my god! Yes! You can stay with us forever! We missed you so much!" Emmett grabbed Rosalie's shirt and started spinning her along with Alice.

I watched the display of affection from a safe distance. Embry had joined me in the kitchen. He was also a safe distance, but looked like he wanted to approach.

Jasper blurred into the room, not wanting to get into the Emmett tornado. "Emmett, I think Embry might have something to say," He chuckled.

Emmett skillfully let go of Alice and sent her flying into Jasper, and the two crimson eyed vampires shared a chaste kiss. I felt something bubble up inside me, but I had no idea what.

Embry approached the two vampires carefully, probably wanting to make peace. He spoke up once Alice let go of Jasper.

"I'm sorry I didn't get to introduce myself. I blame my temper. My name is Embry Call. Nice to meet you," He held his hand out, but Alice ignored it and wrapped her arms around his neck. He looked a bit tense at first, but then he visibly loosened up.

Alice stepped back and took his hand again. "Alice Brandon. Nice to meet you," She smiled. Rosalie and Emmett's jaws dropped.

"You mean..."

"No way..."

"But I thought..."

"You couldn't..."

Alice smiled widely. "Yup! I found records of myself in a hospital in Biloxi, Mississippi. Er, well, not really a hospital, actually... A mental facility..."

Emmett boomed with laughter. "I can't believe it! I knew you were a freak!"

Rosalie chuckled. "That was pretty obvious beforehand, though."

Alice was still wearing Emmett's exceedingly large pair of "Beats". She started humming a tune from U2. Emmett took notice of her headgear, wrenching the huge headphones from her ears.

"HEY! NO!" Emmett screamed. He was acting like a possessive little child.

Alice's soprano peals of laughter joined Rosalie's flutelike tenor and Jasper's baritone laughs. The auras of the room were all dancing, Alice's whipping around, Rosalie's flickering delightedly, and Jasper's shooting small bolts of lightning in different directions. Emmett's blue tower aura spun around happily, clearly content in having made his siblings laugh.

Embry and I, the only werewolves in the room, felt a bit uncomfortable. These were our natural enemies, and here we were, pretending to be best friends with them. Well, one of them may be my best friend, but that was beside the point.

Embry was getting tired of the family reunion he didn't understand. "Em! COD. Now."

Emmett laughed again. "Let's go, bitch."

"You're on, leech."

Embry looked to Jasper. "Wanna play with the big boys?"

Jasper looked to Emmett, who was making exceedingly large "come hither" gestures, which made Alice laugh quietly into my shoulder. Jasper let himself smile. "A war game? You'll be sorry, mutt."

The boys zoomed over to the couch and set up COD. I found myself sort of itching to join them, especially when there was a new person to play with. I let myself have my fun.

"Plug in another controller. I'll kill you all," I said. I ran over to the last available chair as I heard loud peals of laughter coming from the kitchen.

~0o0~

Nearly four hours later, the buttons were still being pushed. I was lying on my back on the floor, with Alice sitting next to me, playing with my hair. Jasper and Emmett were on the couch, and Embry was on the floor as well, sitting Indian style. We had split the four of us into "Team Bloodsucker" and "Team Mutt". The two male vampires had one win total over Embry and I.

The both of us simultaneously yawned, seeing as how we hadn't slept for almost a day or so.

Emmett grinned viciously. "Aw, do the widdle doggwies need theiwe sweep?"

"Shut it, Emmett," Alice said from next to me. "They're human, they need sleep."

I looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "Why thank you, but if you think that I'm human, then obviously your logic is flawed."

Alice grinned. "Would you whather be a widdle doggwie?"

The whole room burst into laughter, and I swiftly got up and unplugged the controller, pitching it at Emmett's head. He dodged it and raised his own.

"CONTROLLER FIIIIIIIGGGHHT!" Rosalie grabbed the controller that Emmett was about to throw, just as he leaned forward. He lost his balance and fell face-first into the coffee table, shattering the fragile piece of glass. More laughter erupted from the people surrounding him. Mostly from the little vampire that was still playing with my hair.

"Shut up. Let the mutts get some sleep. We need to go shopping anyway. You two," Emmett pointed to Embry and I. "Have eaten six pizzas each in two days. And room service has refused to give us any more."

Jasper laughed. "Damn. Six each? But those things are fucking huge!" Jasper's Southern drawl had almost completely disappeared.

"Yeah. We're leaving," Rosalie said from the open doorway. "Now."

Emmett whined. "But Rose, baby can you give me five more minutes to—" Rosalie zoomed over and grabbed Emmett by the ear.

"I said NOW."

I laughed loudly. "Damn. Em you're whipped!"

The pair had already made their way out the door after Emmett flicked me off.

Embry let out a huge yawn, and made his way toward the bathroom. Five minutes later, he exited, and bid everyone goodnight. I myself made my way to the bathroom, careful to look for signs that could help me control my... special condition in the future. I found my features much more humanized. My irises were a dull gold color, and my canines were still sharp, but not too large.

I was examining my face when I heard some voices coming from the living room. If I focused hard enough, I could hear the male voice of Jasper arguing with Alice.

"They won't notice..." He said, trying to comfort her.

"It doesn't matter if they notice or not, what matters is that you're killing people!"

"Nobody will notice, I promise..."

"Please...Don't..."

"Don't worry, I promise I won't do it. I'll go hunt animals."

There was a slight pause in the conversation, before I heard Alice whisper something so quietly, that if I hadn't been listening so intently I would have missed it.

"You're lying..."

This got me riled up. I ran out of the bathroom and zoomed at an inhuman pace toward Jasper, grabbing his neck with my right hand. He looked completely surprised. I squeezed his throat with my hand, not caring if he got hurt. I spoke slowly and clearly, so there was no reason for him not to get my message.

"If you come back here and your eyes are still red, I'll rip you apart," I said. I put even more pressure on his throat until the granite skin below my fingers began to crack. The spider web pattern spread around my fingers, and I had all but crushed him when I let go. His skin quickly reassembled itself.

"Understood." Jasper flew out the window without a sound. I felt angry. Very angry. _Stupid bloodsucker doesn't know who he's messing with._

I turned around quickly. I immediately regretted my decision of hurting Jasper. Alice stood a few feet away from me, a pained expression gracing her angelic features. I didn't want her to hurt like that. I blinked rapidly before I allowed myself some words.

"I-I never meant for it to get out of hand," I tried to explain myself. She didn't answer for a few seconds, and then she whispered something.

"I know. I would have seen it."

"...I'm sorry."

She shook her head. "Don't be. Anyone else would have done the same," She said quietly.

I ran my hand through my hair and walked down the hallway, straight into my room. It no longer had a door. I got under the covers and hit the light switch. Then I heard a small voice coming from the side of the bed.

"...Can I join you?" Alice seemed kind of upset.

"...I thought you couldn't sleep." That was the first complete sentence she let me get away with.

"I like to pretend."

I flipped the blankets open, leaving room for her to get in. "Hop in."

She quickly got in the covers and curled into my chest. The ultraviolet aura curled itself around the two of us, giving me warmth despite her cold.

Alice giggled. "You're not bothered by this at all? You're sleeping with a vampire."

I shrugged as best I could with the covers around me. "I just had the most painful moment of my life two days ago. I crashed into a building and played Call of Duty with two vampires and another werewolf. Not a whole lot of things can bother me anymore."

She giggled. "That was you? I thought that was a bomb or something."

"Nope. That was me. I miscalculated the jump," I said.

She took the covers and wrapped us both. "Good night Bella."

"Night." It looked as though she didn't receive the response because she had her eyes closed and was breathing steadily. If I hadn't known that her kind couldn't sleep, then I would have probably guessed she was out cold. "I know you're not sleeping, Alice."

She smiled. "I like to pretend."

* * *

**Nother A/N: **Just a bit of fluff there. I really meant that this was just gonna be a filler chapter. Next chapter is more Alice and Bella fluff, where Alice takes Bella shopping. And then Mr. Black Pyramid ruins it all :) MWAHAHAHAHAHA! I hope this fic isn't moving too fast. I know how people like to stretch things out. Have any of you guys seen 24? Yeah, that's what I mean by stretching it out. I cried when Jack Bauer died.

Soooo many song references in this chapter! Let's start at square one (another reference. Square One by Coldplay is the song for today) The first song mentioned (the one Alice was humming when Bella came out of the bathroom) is High and Dry by Radiohead. The second song mentioned (Alice on the kitchen counter) is Lady Gaga vs Coldplay - Viva La Vida Bad Romance. The last song Alice hums is With or Without you, by U2. Fic for today is all of the 51 Things Emmett Cullen Should Remember saga by "the indifferent child of earth". Thanks man. You gave me four hours worth of laughs.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Also big thanks to anyone who put this under story alerts. Thanks. Next chapter has more action in it. Bella gets kidnapped ^^. Anyone else think Jasper is an on and off jackass? Well, you shouldn't. I had always liked Jasper in the books, but his control was too poor to let him make proper decisions. I actually like Jasper. I think Edward is a huge jackass though.

Cheers,

The Lazy Werewolf


	9. Fight or Flight

**Title: Cut the Ropes**

**Author:** LazyWerewolf

**A/N:** I think it's his control because bloodlust is just like hunger. Hunger isn't an emotion, so logically Jasper can't feel it. Just like you can't see that somebody is hungry unless they openly state "I'm hungry" or make a large theatrical scene. But really, Jasper's a good guy. That's why Alice is with him.

I'm sad that some of you have decided to abandon the fic. :( I get the grammar, and I get fixing errors in continuity, but if you ask me to change the plot, I won't do it. I do hope that maybe you'll come back when it's all over, though, and read the whole thing through. But to those of you that are leaving, bye, and I'm glad you've stuck with me thus far :D Please come visit us later :)

Expect fluff. Then expect more fluff, and a monster coming to ruin it all. I know. I'm evil. See you at teh bahtom.

**Fight or Flight**

I awoke to find that the wonderful softness and warmth that had pressed into me yesterday was gone. I rolled over and yawned. _Good night's sleep._ I looked at the clock and found that it was five in the afternoon. Nostalgia hit me like a train.

_"BELLA SWAN!__ ITS FIVE IN THE AFTERNOON GODDAMIT!"_

Charlie. I missed my dad. A terrible wave of homesickness and sadness rolled over me. I rolled myself over to the side to get up. My feet met the cold hardwood floor, and I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. I decided I needed food. Plus, I had a very urgent need for the bathroom. I looked toward the window, which showcased the perpetual London clouds. There, in the mountains far away, was the pyramid shaped black aura, which stood out over everything else. I felt threatened, but it was a safe distance away from the city.

I yawned again as I made my way toward the bathroom. I stopped when I saw Jasper knocking at the bathroom door, gently pleading with Alice.

"Alice, darlin', please get out of the bathroom. You've been in it for the past two hours," he said. His Southern accent returned with a vengeance.

"No!" Alice yelled from beyond the bathroom door.

Jasper turned to face me, his gold irises meeting mine. All tension evaporated, and it wasn't because of his gift. I was glad he took my warning seriously.

"Good mornin', Bella," he smiled at me. I had nothing against him, so I smiled back.

"Morning, Jazz. Why is Alice in the bathroom?"

He chuckled. "During our travels, she neglected to take a shower for an extended period of time."

Alice screamed from beyond the door. "Hey! There were no clean rivers, thank you very much! Don't worry Bella, I'll be out soon!"

I uncomfortably shifted in place. "Please. I need to have a human moment."

The shower tap stopped running, and in a matter of seconds Alice exited the bathroom. She gleamed at me.

"Good morning, Bella! How'd you sleep?"

"Great. Thanks. Now if you would excuse me..."

I ran into the bathroom, promptly having my human moment. I got up to brush my teeth, noting how my eyes were almost completely dark. The gold had faded into a dull bronze, and my canines were dull enough to smile in public and have nobody question it.

I exited the bathroom, only to crash into Alice.

"Oomph!" I fell backwards onto my ass and she just stood there, with a glazed look in her eyes. _Oh yeah. She's That's So Raven. Visions._

She promptly came out of her vision and smiled at me, offering a hand. I took it, and lifted myself up.

"Guess what? We're going shopping!" Alice was ecstatic.

I groaned. "Shopping... Why?" I whined.

Alice burst into a fit of giggles. "Because you have four outfits. That's why. You desperately need more clothes, and also," she grabbed my shirt and pulled me downwards, so that her breath hit my ear. She gently whispered, probably quiet enough to be private. "Rosalie only has sixteen outfits. Back home she had around a hundred," she pulled back and giggled when she saw my eyes widen.

"Really? I think the max amount I've had in my life was around fifteen," I said as she led me to my room again.

She lept upon the bed, and landed on her stomach. She put her head between her hands and started swinging her feet. The vampire pointed to my drawer.

"Get the grey tank top, and put that navy blue shirt over it. Those black sweats and that pair of converse will have to do it," she said from the bed. I did as she commanded, changing in the closet. When I came out Alice was waiting with her arms crossed over her chest. She looked perfectly adorable.

The little vampire came over and rearranged some things here and there, and pretty soon she stepped back, smiling at me with her signature smirk.

"That'll do. We're leaving. Now."

My stomach rumbled loudly. "Alice... I need to eat. Werewolf hungry. Werewolf need food."

She giggled. I used this as my opportunity to pounce. I grabbed her and lifted her up with about as much ease as Emmett did and she laughed loudly.

"Werewolf mad! Werewolf smash!" I lifted her up over my head, but she squirmed out of my grasp and tasered my sides.

"Ow!" I dropped my arms and held my ribs. Those things were NOT funny.

"Come on, werewolf, you need to eat." She dragged me off into the kitchen. Jasper, Emmett, and a now reawakened Embry were playing Call of Duty and Rosalie was watching with a bored look. Alice danced over to the microwave, where she took out a black slab of... Of pizza?

"Alice, is that pizza?" _Because it sure as hell doesn't look like pizza._

"Yeah. I left it in the microwave two minutes, just like Embry said, but it didn't look quite done yet, so I just kind of..." She trailed off, before perking up and handing me the charcoal mess.

"Well, eat up!"

"Alice, that's not edible anymore. How would you like it if I told you to drink ashes?"

She huffed. "Fine then. We'll just go to a restaurant. My treat, let's go!"

Once again, she started dragging me toward the door. I let myself be dragged as I waved goodbye to the three vampires and the other werewolf. Emmett looked my way and snorted.

"And you call me whipped," the burly vampire said.

The two of us had left the apartment, and she was leading me down the stairs into the parking lot. Alice pointed to a yellow Porsche. I had never seen the car before.

"Alice, is that yours?"

"Yup. Jasper bought it for me as a birthday present."

"When's your—"

"I don't know. I know when I was turned, but the hospital records don't say when my actual birthday was." She looked down, and her smile disappeared. _Way to kill the moment, Bella._

"Oh, I'm—"

"Don't be."

She opened up the door to the two-seater Porsche and got in, signaling me to get in as well.

The inside of the car was completely black, except for several Porsche shields on the radio, steering wheel, and glove compartment, but when Alice turned the car on, the knobs and several appliances lit up like a TRON bike. The rings of light were a bright cyan blue, just like Emmett's aura. I knew the similarities between the two were purely coincidental, because I was the only one who could see auras. This got me thinking about the new situation I had found myself in. Alice had just begun driving down the foggy London streets.

I was a werewolf. If you really thought about it, I was very similar to the beast that bit me in the first place. I saw what that monster did back there to Laurent. The vampire disintegrated around his arm! Mr. Monster tore through a shed like it was thin air. Not to mention that I had enough speed to outrun two vampires. Two carnivore vampires. So, I had inhuman strength, inhuman speed, and vampire killing powers while I was wolf. The only problem with all that is that while I was wolf, I could only see in grey. And while human, I wasn't colorblind. Everything looked perfectly fine. Everything looked perfectly, angelically, spiky haired, pale pixie vampire-ly fine.

Alice had turned on the Porsche's CD player, which was playing Coldplay's Parachutes album. I didn't know she was into that kind of music. It was almost entirely acoustic. I took her as being a more of a Katy Perry meets Lady Gaga kind of girl.

"I didn't know you liked—"

"Coldplay? Oh yeah. Coldplay's great. I like trying to figure out what the notes are. I know I probably seem like the type of person to enjoy pop music, but it's too..." She looked up and scrunched her nose in an effort to find the correct word. She looked adorable. "Synthetic, you know?"

"Yeah, you're right. I myself like—"

"Alternative is great. I love it. But a whole lot of alternative is centered on electric and kind of angry lyrics. I like this album because it's acoustic mostly, along with a few electric touches here and there."

I sighed. "Can I—"

"Finish a sentence? Okay, I'll try not to interrupt," She laughed. I could see the tip of Big Ben just around the corner, but we were approaching a shopping center.

"Evil little pixie."

She laughed and parked the car near the entrance to the outlet store. "That's me!"

Alice blurred over to my side, opening my door before I had a chance to reach the handle. She smiled widely at me and damn near dragged me toward the entrance. The huge store was extremely crowded, with people that behaved just like Alice dragging their husbands, boyfriends, or Bella equivalents around to different models and stands. Alice herself was staring at the escalator with a glazed look. Vision.

She snapped out of it, and looked frustrated. "I can't see anything five hours from now. Nothing. I think it's safe to say Embry will be joining us at around ten-ish."

I shrugged. "The kid's not bad. He had a bone to pick with Emmett before, but now he just kind of accepts the fact that he's living with two vampires and another werewolf. It's kind of funny, once you think about it."

Alice took my arm and dragged me over to an aisle with designer shirts, dresses and even jeans. I picked one out. _Three hundred and fifty fucking dollars?__ It's just a fucking pair of jeans!_ The vampire kept dragging me toward a huge indoor fountain, which had several displays of swimsuits near it. She suddenly took a sharp turn to the right, and headed toward a display that had very expensive looking dresses and leggings, with sizes significantly smaller than the remainder of the store.

"Alice, why are we in the short people aisle?"

"Oh, I'm trying this one on," She grabbed a dress out of the rack. "And this one, and this one, and I like this one and this one and this one and this one too," She was zooming quickly between the racks, picking out the most expensive and prettiest dresses she saw.

Pretty soon she approached me with around sixteen dresses and a dozen or so leggings. "This is only round one. You're next," She said. I took some dresses from the pile that she held. The amount of clothing she was carrying far exceeded the limit of eight items per person, but the flustered dressing room attendant was too dazed by her inhumane beauty to care much. The attendant handed Alice a key, and let her pick any room she wanted. I handed her the dresses, but she looked at me with puppy dog eyes and her signature pout.

"Y...You don't like me enough to come wif me?" She said. It broke my heart seeing the whole pout and puppy dog eyes combo, but I knew she was just playing. I still didn't want those eyes to be following me around for the next five hours, so I just let her drag me off to the dressing room.

Alice locked the door behind us when she got in. I sat down in the corner of the exceedingly large dressing room. Honestly, this thing was the size of my room. There were white panels covering the walls, and contemporary art was painted on the ceiling. I stared down at the grey concrete floor, and then I felt a light tapping on my shoulder. Alice stood there wearing a beautiful white sun dress with black leggings.

"What do you think?" She spun around, letting the edges of the dress fly outwards.

"It's amazing."

"Good dog!" She walked over to the spot that I was sitting in, and started patting my head. Suddenly my stomach started growling.

I did a whole fake groan and looked at her pleadingly. "Werewolf hungry, werewolf want food!"

She smiled. "Okay, just let me finish putting on these dresses, then we'll go eat. Or, well, you'll go eat. I'll just sit there."

"M'Kay. I just want food."

She near instantly changed dresses, this time putting on a navy blue dress with grey leggings. It looked stunning on her too.

"So?" Once again she twirled the dress, letting the edges fly upwards.

"It's great."

She beamed. "I knew you'd say that!"

"Then why'd you make me say it?"

"Because I like being told I'm pretty!" She yelled. Alice had an adorable angry expression on her face as she zoomed into yet another dress.

"How about this one?" She twirled around in the dress. I huffed.

"Can't you just—"

"Look into the future and tell if I like any of the dresses? Yeah, I guess I could, but where's the fun in that?"

"I'm starving, Alice! I want food!"

She huffed, before gathering the dresses and also dragging me out of the dressing room. "You're no fun, you know that?"

I wrenched myself from her grasp and watched as she ran toward the cashier front. The poor girl was shocked at seeing her, seeing as Alice damn near materialized out of nowhere with two dozen items of clothing. Alice, however, smiled and handed her the dresses. The checkout was made extraordinarily fast, the girl's hands shaking as she handed over the receipt. Alice danced over to me with her five big bags of clothing.

"Alice, you gave that girl a heart attack."

She smirked. "Yeah, I know! I thought I was being pretty nice, too!"

The two of us walked out of the store, with me holding three of her huge bags of clothing. I think she bought around two dozen or more dresses and leggings. All totaling up to be more than five hundred dollars. This girl was made of money. Money, and adorable.

After we dropped the bags off in the car, Alice pointed out a standard fish and chips restaurant.

"That one looks decent!"

"I'll eat anything. Let's go. You don't mind joining me, do you?" She shook her head no, and latched onto my arm.

When we entered the restaurant, all heads turned to us. Alice had still not let go of my arm, and was now leading me toward a table. The restaurant was relatively small, with only around a dozen tables, which were almost all filled. We took the booth farthest from the entrance, and Alice sat herself down. She waited as I got up to order.

I approached the line of people waiting to order. As I did, men sporadically approached Alice, trying to make conversation. I felt a surge of anger rise up inside of me, but I held it down. Nothing good will come of exploding in front of a room of people.

The line slowly receded, putting me in front. The manager greeted me, and I ordered two plates of fish and chips.

"You sure? Those plates are pretty big," He said.

"It's okay, I have a big appetite," I replied. _You have no idea._

The manager nodded, and took my order. I paid and then walked over to our table, where I saw a man sitting across from Alice. My anger flared up again, and I felt my nails and teeth growing. I damn near ran to the man, approaching their table quickly.

"I'm sorry, I'm with someone," Alice said, brushing off all attempts at a date.

"But girl, you don—Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing?" I grabbed the man by the collar and threw him out of the booth.

"Don't _ever_ do that again," I growled. The man obviously didn't take me seriously. He got right back up and approached me with a smug look on his face.

"I was just trying to get to know your friend a bit better," He drawled out. His face blanched when I walked up to him menacingly, and he seemed to shrink when he looked into my eyes.

"Well, she doesn't _want_ to get to know you. _I think you should leave_," I growled, still glaring at the man. He took the warning and raised his hands.

"Sorry, won't happen again," He was walking away toward the door.

I walked back to the booth. Alice was sitting there with a surprised look on her face.

"Bella, your eyes. They're really yellow," she said. _Shit. Shit shit shit shitting shit shit._

"Yeah, I know. Werewolf thing," I said softly, knowing she would hear it.

"Your teeth, too. They're really big. It's too noticeable. Maybe I should go get the food," she offered. I guess if it was that bad, she probably looked more normal than I did.

"Sure. Go," I said. My head was starting to hurt.

Alice got up and walked over to where a shell-shocked manager stood holding a plate of food. She came back in seconds holding two steaming plates of fish and chips. I decided to eat at a human pace, trying to make conversation with Alice, but failing due to the pounding in my ears. My body revoked the decision to eat slowly and started scarfing down almost all of the food at once. Alice watched me with a delighted expression, seeming to find my food humorous.

"Something funny?" I said between bites of food.

She shook her head. "No. But everyone's staring at you. You just swallowed a huge plate of food in five minutes."

I turned around. Sure enough, every single _god damn _person was staring at me. Another wave of anger hit me. "What?"

Everyone turned around in their chairs, going back to their own business. _Cowards._Alice grabbed my hand from across the table, looking at me pleadingly.

"Bella, are you okay?" Her tone was filled with worry.

"Fine, headache," I said. I had lost all appetite about halfway through the second dish. The two of us got up and made our way out the door, Alice paying the tip.

I held my head when we got outside. Fisting my hair in my hands, I let out a roar. I was in so much pain. I was just so angry. I had no clue why, or at what, I was just _angry. _Everything was just pissing me off today. Including the little pixie vampire next to me.

"Bella, are you okay?" She repeated.

**"_Rrgh__, FUCK OFF!" _**I was angry. Very angry. She wasn't helping. I didn't know if it was just a natural reaction to being near my natural enemy for an extended period of time, but I didn't care. Big Ben let out a ring. Ten at night. Alice grabbed my arm and stopped me from walking any further.

"Bella, please! What's wrong?"

**_"I SAID GET OFF OF ME BLOODSUCKER!" _**I didn't know what got into me, but Alice sure as hell deserved it. I was having a mental breakdown. Everything was telling me to get away from her. My instincts were telling me to blow up and run away.

I started sprinting away. Running full blast, I dodged incoming cars, pedestrians, and obstacles with ease. I was basically running parkour at seventy miles an hour. Alice was a distant voice far behind me, trying to get my attention. The beast inside me was screaming, scratching at the edges of my being. And when I got to an abandoned alley, I knew why.

I jumped over the metal fence with ease. I had no idea what got into me, but it was giving me a power and agility I had never known, outside of being a were. As I landed on my feet, I was assaulted by another wave of pure rage. I was fucking pissed all of a sudden. I was also in extreme pain. Not the pain that was followed by my transformation, but just an outright burn through my veins. I looked around to try and find the source of the sudden pain. In the corner of the closed off courtyard was a man hidden in the shadows, his bright yellow eyes glowing in the faint London moonlight. The black pyramid aura surrounded him completely. The fear and anger inside me doubled, but I still didn't phase. _Fight or flight. Fight or flight, fight or flight, fight or flight..._

The man started approached slowly, his blonde hair and bright yellow eyes becoming visible in the moonlight. His mouth started moving, but I couldn't hear the words over the loud thumping of my eardrums. If I focused hard enough, I could faintly hear a "Hello, Isabella."

_Flight.__ Flight. Definitely flight._

I turned as fast as I could, and I ran. I simply ran. I vaulted over fences as fast as I could, but he trailed behind me, just as fast. I sprinted faster, and took a sharp turn into an alley.

I had to screech to a stop. At the end of the alley was an exact replica of the man that was right behind me. _WHAT THE FUCK?_

The one in front of me had a faint, but small black pyramid aura. The one behind had a huge, towering giant black pyramid. I could safely assume that the one ahead was a decoy. I ran toward it, the pseudo-man taking up a fighting stance. I sprinted even faster, nearing his figure.

_So I was right, _I thought. I had tackled straight through the man, where he promptly disintegrated into sand. However, in doing so, I had lost precious seconds. The chasing man grabbed the back of my collar, jerking me backwards. I stumbled, but regained my balance. I was about to run, but another duplicate of himself grabbed my wrists and jerked me downwards before I could start. The duplicate had me in a headlock, and I looked forward to see the black pyramid man with both his arms out, bringing them rapidly towards the side of my head. I was out cold in seconds.

**Nother**** A/N:** Yep. Bella just got kidnapped by Mr. Black pyramid. I know I probably made it sound like it was Jasper, but Jasper's aura is a blue thunderstorm. Black pyramid man looks kind of like Chris Martin. What can I say, I'm a Coldplayer :D The reason Bella blew up on Alice was because of the proximity to the werewolf that changed her. It gets you angry. For those of you who don't know what parkour is, it's a form of freerunning, but without acrobatics. More explanations next chapter. A reviewer suggested I stop leaving spoilers, so I will :P

I'm gonna update continually until monday. Thumbs up for a week of no school. Thanks to my new beta, AshFisher92.

Song for today is 2+2=5 by Radiohead. Fic for the day is Full Moon by megster1992.

Thanks for reading, and hope you'll stick with me :D

Cheers,

The Lazy Werewolf


	10. Don't Panic

**Title: Cut the Ropes**

**Author:** LazyWerewolf

**A/N:** Hard left turn into Crazyland is right :P hope you guys aren't too frustrated with the sudden change in... Everything. You'll be meeting some OC's today. Those are my property. Not twilights. However, Hogwarts letters belong to JKR. Here comes bitter, angsty Bella. Hooray.

If I may make a **suggestion** to readers, fanfiction in fullscreen doesn't look aesthetically pleasing and also makes it seem as though I've written nothing at all, so to fix that you could **shrink the browser window down to a decent size. **However, this looks great in the mobile browser :P ive checked XD

Apologies in advance for the horrible grammar, I'm sure.

I'll be splitting the story into Bella's POV and then third person with Alice and team Werepire (yeah, it's sticking). I'm absolutely sure that this chapter will make me lose readers... But at the same time gain some, if that makes any sense. I'm definitely not conservative, you can probably gather that much.

I swear nothing too crazy will happen. Or maybe I lied. But this still isn't a crossover, but references like "TRON bike" and "Hogwarts letters" aren't meant for copyright infringement. I don't own any of these. I also don't own the X-Men.

See you at teh bahtom.

* * *

**Don't Panic**

I couldn't see anything. I couldn't feel anything. I didn't know which way was up anymore. I certainly knew I wasn't facing up, but I still didn't know for sure where gravity was pulling me. It was dark, cold, and uncomfortable as hell. I could still move though, so I made an effort to try and right myself.

I squirmed around, trying to get my cramped neck to stretch out. Then I heard a voice coming from my right.

"Newbie's up," it said. The male voice had a light Asian accent but spoke in perfect English.

"Derek, lift the shields already. If she had any special abilities she would have broken out already," another voice said. It was also male, but didn't have any trace of an accent. _Abilities? Am I supposed to have abilities?_

"Derek, please! She has no idea where she is, what she is, or why she's here. I mean, she's gonna see us anyway, why put it off?" this voice was a very young female. She sounded almost identical to Alice, but her aura was nowhere in sight. Never mind the fact that _nothing_ was anywhere in sight. Everything was pitch black. I thrashed around violently, trying to shake the cloud of blackness off of me.

"Oh, would you just stop! No one asked for your opinion," yet another male voice spoke up. It had a very heavy English accent. The voice itself sounded more mature than any of the other ones. It continued speaking, "Derek, just lift the shields already. She can't do anything, and if she could she would have done it already." The voice accentuated the "Can't" and "have" wonderfully. British accents always had a certain charm to them. Even in this situation.

I felt the wave of blackness being lifted off, but all I saw was the night sky, the moon and stars lighting the dark beautifully. The sky was moving, so I could guess that I was in a moving vehicle. _Déjà vu._ I was lying on my back, staring off into space, content with the beauty of the sky, when I felt someone poking my shoulder. I turned my head to be met with startling yellow eyes and long black hair.

"Hi! I'm Emily," the little girl said. She had to be Alice's height, if not shorter. The girl had shoulder length black hair, pale skin, and looked to be about fourteen. If it weren't for her pale orange aura, I could have guessed that it was Alice's twin sister. The most significant difference was her eyes. They were bright yellow, much brighter than a vegetarian vampire's eyes.

I violently sat up, squirming as fast and as far away from the voice as possible, taking in my surroundings. I was in a tarp covered wagon, with an open back. The outside was desert. Sand everywhere. Inside the car, however, were more pressing matters.

I looked to find the four voices seated in two separate benches inside the wagon. A tall, tan male that looked almost identical to Jacob was seated next to Emily. On the bench opposite to them was a male of Asian descent, with a scowl on his face and his arms crossed over his chest. The one that caught my attention the most, however, was a tall, blonde male with short messy hair that was sitting on the edge of the door to the wagon. The black pyramid aura around him wasn't causing me pain or discomfort, but either way I felt threatened.

He started talking with the heavy British accent I had heard before.

"Don't panic. We're not here to hurt you. If you'll give us a chance to explain, I'm sure you won't feel threatened anymore." He perched his elbows on his knees, looking at me with his dull, yellow eyes.

"Let me start by introducing myself. My name is Daniel. I was the one that turned you. If you remember, I was the monster that saved you from the other monster," he said, while making small gestures with his hands.

"If you haven't already figured it out, we are exactly what you are. And if you still don't know what that is, let me elaborate.

"We are what the rest of the world calls Children of the Moon. Vampires are our only remaining natural enemy. The reason you're here is that we're trying to sort of...regain our previous numbers. A very long time ago, I believe around two-hundred years ago, the Volturi held a massive genocide of our kind. The Volturi are a group of—"

"Vampires that are the equivalent of royalty. I know some of this, cut me some slack. I'm not as stupid as you think," I cut him off.

He chuckled. "I can gather that much. Anyway, our kind is attempting to regain the numbers of before. But, the Volturi are fickle and conservative. They began to hunt everything that was a threat to their existence. Not only did they hunt our kind down, they hunted down others as well. Sirens, demi-gods, shapeshifters, and even Michelangelo's Archangels were killed in a massive genocide of non-vampires. They almost completely wiped us out. But if even one of us survives, we can continue to create more. All it takes is a bite. Years later, the only remaining... werewolf, for lack of a better term, bit another, and his son bit another, and another and another. Our numbers were replenishing in secret. We remained hidden up until this long."

He shifted on the ledge and clasped his hands together. "But, enough of that, let's talk about now. These are your bunkmates for the night. They're in a similar position as you. Well, except for... I'll let you introduce yourselves."

The tan male sitting near him shifted in his seat. "Um...I'm David. I'm bitten, just like you. I was changed around two months ago. I'm still trying to control it, but it doesn't come easily," he said. His aura was a pale blue ring around his neck. The boy looked like Jacob's twin. But there were some differences here and there. David was easily taller, and he was significantly quieter. The girl sitting next to him sat up, and smiled at me.

"I'm Emily. I wasn't bitten, but my dad was. I haven't changed at all yet, I don't know why. I should have, though, but I haven't. I can't hurt you at all." _Thank god. I was afraid she'd turn into a fire breathing monster thing. _

The remaining male didn't move from his position, or shift at all. "Derek. Get used to what you are, probie, because it doesn't go away." The man had a ring of blue aura surrounding his feet.

Daniel smiled at me. "Call me Dan, Daniel, Danny, I don't care. I can see you're still pretty flustered. Feel free to introduce yourself. Or not. Some of us value privacy," he angled his head toward Derek.

I sat up. I was still sitting on the floor, but I didn't feel any constraints like I did before. It couldn't hurt to let them know my name.

"Isabella, but I prefer just Bella." Emily smiled at me again, and reached for my arm, but I winced back. She looked a bit flustered, but then she began explaining.

"You can't just sit on the floor! It's all gross and stuff," she said. She even scrunched her nose up, just like Alice did.

"I'm sure as hell not sitting next to him," I said, pointing to Derek. He seemed like the type to eat people alive.

She giggled. "Our side has room. Come on," this time I let her move me toward the bench with David on it. Daniel chuckled again, and started to speak.

"Do you have a gift?" He asked.

I shook my head. "I don't know, to be honest. But I can see auras," I elaborated.

His eyes widened. "I haven't heard of abilities that aren't physical. If you haven't gathered this much from our previous encounter, I can create duplicates of myself made of sand. One of which is driving the truck right now," he said. Suddenly a blob of sand crawled in through the back window and changed into an exact replica of the man next to it. You couldn't tell the two apart, but the duplicate had a faint black pyramid surrounding him, as opposed to a very defined black pyramid surrounding the man next to it. The two simultaneously began talking.

"Well, most of us have abilities that affect the world around us. Because some of us have abilities that require matter, we draw power from sand because it's much more malleable than solid rock or dirt." The pair were speaking perfectly in sync, creating an odd double timbre voice.

I didn't understand anything. I felt so stupid. _What the fuck is going on?_ "Next you're gonna tell me that I'm getting my Hogwarts letter."

David laughed. More sand flew in through the window. The little particles started twisting and morphing, and they turned into little scorpions. Those scorpions then morphed into puny tigers, puppies, snakes, and other bugs. One of them turned into a replica of myself.

"Sand manipulation," David said, snapping me out of my fascination with these small figurines. They behaved just like the animals they embodied. The mini-me yawned. Suddenly all of them collapsed, and David closed his hands around the sand.

Emily got up and sat on the other side of the bench. Suddenly, white spikes stuck out everywhere from her body. She looked like a porcupine. A very dangerous, were-porcupine. It was almost hysterical, how crazy I was getting. I swore that all of this was just a huge joke. Then the spikes suddenly receded, leaving me with my mouth gaping wide open. _No, no, this isn't happening. First the goddamn vampires, then the wolf explosion, then these monsters, and now this... This can't be happening._

Daniel spoke up. "She uses sand to change the shape of her bones. We think this will make phasing much less painful for her," he said. But I honestly didn't care. This was too much. I had to get out.

"What the hell is this? X-Men? You expect me to believe all this shit? And you," I lashed out at Derek. "What the fuck can you do? Fly?" I was screaming now.

Derek got up roughly, and so did I. Both the Daniels got up as well, holding us both down. Derek started talking.

"No, I can do this!"

Everything around me went black again, and I collapsed. I couldn't tell which way was up, and I became dizzy. I couldn't see, feel, smell, or hear anything. I had no idea where I was anymore. The whole world was disorienting. The only thing I could hear was my own thoughts. I had no measure on time any more. I could have easily been there for hours or seconds. But then suddenly the cloak over me was lifted. I used this as my chance.

I shoved past Daniel and David, knocking over the door of the wagon. The freezing desert air was liberating. I heard screams calling my name from behind, where the driver failed to notice my absence and kept driving forward while I ran back.

"Bella!" I heard a voice that sounded exactly like Alice from behind me. But it wasn't Alice. If it was Alice, I would have stopped. If it was Alice, I would have run back. If it was Alice, I wouldn't be here in the first place. If it was Alice, I would still be in the apartment, playing Call of Duty with the boys while she played with my hair. If Alice had never left with Edward in the first place, I would be in Forks, at home, with my dad, with Jacob, and with all of the Cullens. If it weren't for stupid Edward, I would still be human. I would still have friends. I would still have family. I would still be happy. All of these emotions, this anger, this searing wave of heat inside me triggered something.

I didn't stop running as the heat that triggered the change assaulted my bones. I welcomed it. It was the only consistency in my life at the moment. My muscles grew as well, almost stopping my sprint. I still felt the unimaginable waves of pain, but my instincts were triggered. Something told me that if I stayed with the others I would get hurt. I was probably right. The burning of the hair assaulted my skin, and I knew that I had at least partially transformed.

The road was indistinguishable under my feet. I had reverted to running four-legged again. I was sprinting as fast as I could down the road. I bet if maybe I ran far enough, I would get back to London to the apartment. Then Emmett, Embry and I could come down here and beat the shit out of these X-Men wannabes. That would be fun.

Suddenly I came upon a street sign. A street sign in the middle of nowhere. I tried my best to make it out, but I couldn't, partly due to the fact that it was in fucking _Arabic. _Where the hell was I? This sign pissed me off. I roared loudly and swung my arm, bending the sign in half. _There, now you're Arabic but upside down, where you can't bother me anymore. _

I sniffed around, looking for some sort of food source. I had no idea how long it was ago that I ate. I was really hungry. But there was no food source near.

I risked a look behind me. The variety of auras was turning back now. I immediately felt threatened, and the hair on the back of my neck stood up. I knew as long as I was on a road they could follow me. So I did the next most obvious thing. I ran straight into the desert, approaching mountains.

The sand scratched in between my toes as I sprinted as fast as I could toward the mountain. Such a mountain ridge could hide me well enough to lead the others on a different trail. There could be goats or some other type of food on top of the mountains as well. There might even be an oasis or something.

I reached the ridges in around five minutes. Climbing the rock was a bit awkward, but easy enough compared to how I would have fared being human. I scaled the rock face, reaching thin ledges and impossible handholds. I remembered something vaguely familiar about this. I've done this before. In fact, not only had I done this before, so had my captor, Daniel. This wasn't as great of an idea as I previously thought.

Pretty soon, I reached a ledge. I was right about my assumptions about there being animals. Crouched in front of me was a coyote. It would normally terrify me, but its size was vastly smaller than me. I could pick it up in my hand. It seemed like a decent source of food, but the human side of me was retching at the thought of eating such an animal. But then again, the more dominant predator side of me wasn't being picky today.

I picked the poor animal up by the scruff of the neck. It growled and protested fearfully, but I really didn't care. I was hungry. What else did it want me to do? I simply grabbed it and bit. I didn't care one bit about the bones or the gut or the possible dysentery. I just ate. I finished it in two bites.

I was quite satisfied. Even if I just swallowed a coyote nearly whole, I was still a bit hungry, but so far it would just have to do. Thinking back to my previous encounter with Daniel, I remembered he had the ability to both turn werewolf and make duplicates of himself. Safe to say he had quite an advantage over me. I would just have to out run him. I was faster than a vampire, I was sure I could run faster than he could.

I started scaling the rock face again. I would have to use the rock face as a boundary between me and Daniel's pack. I wasn't about to get caught again. My hands and paws were conquering the steep slope with ease. Pretty soon I was at the summit.

Looking around, I caught sight of Daniel's black pyramid aura from dozens of miles away. Safe to say he no longer had a trail. The unrelenting glow of the moonlight lit up everything. I could see for hundreds of miles across the flat desert plane. There was nothing. Nothing but a faint oasis in the middle of it all. I had heard stories about mirages and illusions, but that was because of heat. I was fucking freezing, there was no way that could be fake.

I landed on the other side of the ridges with a thud. The little pool of water was only a mile or so away. I kept on running at my werewolf pace.

I approached the pool of water. It looked totally normal, but I knew better than to assume that. So what I did was I tried to test it out by sniffing the water, to see if it was poisoned or not. I lowered my snout down, taking a deep whiff of the water.

A hand shot out and grabbed my throat.

The water flew everywhere, but it twisted onto itself and turned black. It was as thick as oil, and more hands shot out to try and attack me. It was trying to choke me and hold me down. I had no idea what was happening. How many times a day am I allowed to say what the fuck?

Just then the water formed a huge mess of hands in mid air. It was like demon oil grew hands and started wanting to attack me. I knew better than to feel afraid, but I was terrified.

Just another thing to add on to the list of freak things that happened to me in the past week.

I scampered as fast as I could away from the mess. It followed, sending out more arms and reaching out to grab my legs or tail as I regained my balance and tried to run away. The moonlight hit the sand almost perfectly right, making it sparkle. I sprinted as far as I could away from the demon oil, but it kept up with the pace I was setting. Suddenly an arm reached my right foot and sent me tumbling to the ground.

The group of arms and hands nearly flew towards me. I ducked my head down and covered myself with my arms in a feeble attempt to ward off the water thing. I felt threatened, and I wanted to get away so badly. I knew I was in a terrible position at the moment, and it seemed my werewolf self recognized this. Protective loops of sand wrapped around me, and crushed me into the sand. I felt myself moving rapidly through the sand until it spit me out again.

I looked around to find that I was in a completely different place than I was before. The demon oil water thing was around fifty feet away, but it was zooming toward me fast. I ducked my head into the sand again, and once again it pulled me through and spit me out in a different place.

I was farther away from the mess of arms now, but it was still blurring at me with unrelenting speed. I ducked my head under the sand again.

Once again I had moved. _Hooray for spontaneous werewolf powers! _I was actually enjoying myself a bit when the mess of arms came flying at me again. But this time it was stopped by a huge tiger made of sand.

I looked around to find David and Emily running toward me rapidly.

"Bella! Bella stay still!" Emily pleaded.

_No! It's coming after me, don't you see?_ I ducked my head under the sand again and appeared away from them. The two turned around, trying to find where I was.

I appeared directly in front of Daniel.

"Why didn't you listen when I told you not to panic?" He said. He created a duplicate of himself and set it at the mess of arms again, which was now dueling with David's sand tigers and sand monsters.

_How the hell was I supposed to stay calm? That thing fucking appeared out of nowhere!_ I thought.

"It may seem like it, but they really don't. They're traps that are put up by others like us," Daniel said.

_What the fuck? Since when can you read my mind? _

"I can't, but you're directing messages to me, and since I changed you, I can hear them," Daniel explained as he created another duplicate of himself, who joined David's sand tigers in the fight.

_They must be a bitch to kill, _I thought.

"That's one way to say things," he said, before near instantly collapsing into the sand and changing into the monster I saw the day I was bitten.

_How do you do that so quickly?_

"Practice," a booming voice erupted from the werewolf.

_You can talk? I can talk? _

"Practice," it repeated, before joining the fight. Emily walked over to me, so I tried to make words. It came out more like a donkey baying, so she giggled.

"We have to get you out of here, can you do that thing you did with the sand again?" She asked. The little girl pointed toward a point beyond the mountains. "The truck is over there."

I didn't know what else to do, so I grabbed her in my arms and attempted to duck under the sand again. Sure enough, it spit the two of us out a few hundred feet from where the truck was. Her eyes widened, and she clung to my fur as I ran toward the wagon, which had a pseudo-Daniel standing in front of it.

"Good to see you two," it greeted.

_Are you done yet? I think we should get out of here._

"Not quite, but almost. You should get sleep. Get in the back. I'll explain everything later, you look tired," The duplicate said.

_I am tired._ I tried as best I could to fit into the wagon. It seemed to be made for werewolves, because it had enough room for me to curl up in the back. I set Emily down, but she still clung to my fur.

"It's cold," she said. I pulled her down into my fur, where she delightedly cuddled into my chest. An amused Daniel duplicate mounted the truck a few minutes later.

_Who's driving?_

"Derek."

_I hate that jackass._

The Daniel clone looked side to side, before speaking again. "Don't tell, but I agree. We'll finish up in about half an hour. Get some sleep, you need it."

I looked down at the little girl pressed into my fur. She reminded me so much of Alice it wasn't even funny. The two were almost exactly the same; except Emily had longer hair and their eyes were different. But their attitudes were the same, and the way they treated others was the same. This little girl accepted me, no questions asked, just like Alice did back when I first visited the Cullen household. It warmed my heart knowing that there wasn't just one person who treated me like Alice.

I quickly settled down and closed my eyes.

* * *

**Nother A/N:** So, Bella is stuck in the middle of Saudi Arabia with a pack of werewolves. I know this chapter was probably a whole lot to swallow, and I'm sorry for my horrible grammar. My beta had troubles with the stupid fuckin' compooper. Dammit. Next chapter, as I said before, is in third person, outlining the search for Bella. The OCs are vital to the plotline, and the demon oil thing was a trap set up by the COTM camp coming up in the near future (MASSIVE SPOILER... SORRY ABOUT THAT ). And again, I apologize for the bad grammar and the sudden change in plot. (NO, **THE OC AND BELLA ARE NOT TOGETHER**! The oc is helping Bella realize her feelings for Alice. She's too goddamn stupid to figure it out in the books and here as well.)

I had to delete the files of the stories as soon as I uploaded them. I've also had to go back and erase my internet history to the AliceXBella fanfictions. Unfortunately for me, I live in a homophobic state...And also a homophobic household. Which means if I happen to slip up on a chapter or need to go back and make changes, I can't. If my brother got kicked out for being atheist, imagine what will happen to me if I come out as being bisexual? I know that was totally random. Sorry, I'm the type to keep all my troubles inside in front of friends and family, and then dump it all on the nearest stranger :D

Music for today is another Radiohead song, 15 step. It was featured on the ending credits of Twilight the movie. (Don't tell anyone...That's how I got hooked on Radiohead. It's also how I got hooked on Muse and Iron & Wine.) Fic for today is United at War by buffscoobs. I'm guessing that's Buffy the vampire slayer and Scooby doo? I don't know.

Cheers,

The Lazy Werewolf


	11. Sail to the Moon

**Title: Cut the Ropes**

**Author:** LazyWerewolf

***NEW DISCLAIMER*: ****I do not own Twilight. I do not own any of the works referenced such as Harry Potter, X-Men, etc. I also don't own any of the songs or albums referenced. No copyright infringement is intended. **

**A/N:** I know I promised a chapter on Alice and friends, but I can't. Writing that isn't coming as naturally as it would for this story. It's actually becoming much too difficult, and not in the good way, so I think I'm gonna drop that. I just saw tron and I am shocked at how much the Quorra looks like Alice. It's not even funny. Like Alice from another universe.

Once again, a reminder that all (yes, all) fanfiction looks better with a smaller browser. Just minimize it and rearrange it a bit to make it look better. And also, apologies for the bad grammar.

See you at teh bahtom.

* * *

**Sail to the Moon**

She had her arms wrapped around my waist while we rode on a refurbished Ducati that my best friend Jacob fixed up in thirty minutes. The two of us rode down a lane that went straight to First Beach and the bonfire party, no detours. We passed the Cullen mansion about two minutes into the La Push reservation. When we passed by Jacob's house, Billy stood up from his wheelchair and handed me a wrench so I could tighten a screw on the Ducati. She gestured me to follow her, and we ended up at the bonfire party. Emmett was having a drink with Sam and Daniel, while Jasper, Emily, another Daniel, Rosalie and Embry were playing laser tag. I took her hand and led her down to the beach, where we both looked at the sun and moon colliding with each other. There was a boat in the direction of the shore. The two of us wordlessly got on it, sailing toward the inevitable collision of the sun and moon.

She began speaking.

"You know, Arabic is the language of romance," the bell chime voice said.

My eyes snapped open just as the blinding white of the two celestial objects colliding hit them.

The beautiful soprano voice was replaced by a startling baritone. "No, it's not _ah-ray-bic_, it's _ah-rab-ic_. Get it right. Oh, good morning Bella!" Daniel's voice drifted over to me from where he was standing.

I adjusted my eyes to the brightness and was met face to face with yellow eyes, pale skin and long black hair. _Again._

"Good morning, more like good afternoon!" Emily giggled and rolled off of me. I lifted myself up and looked around, coming face to face with a Daniel clone, and a tent of some sort. I could guess it was midday because the sun loomed directly above me. The tent had a sort of plastic floor, but either way sand leaked through. There was an unsettling glow outside the canvas, hurting my eyes. There was also a desk, a chair, and I seemed to be sleeping on a... what are those military beds called? Hammocks? Cots? _Whatever, I'm calling it a hammock._

"Where are...I?"

"Proper grammar, please."

"You bastard. Where the hell am I?"

"That's better. We are in Saudi Arabia. Don't worry, we're not terrorists. But you are hungry. Why don't the two of us—"

Emily huffed in the most childish display of discontent I had seen to date.

"Fine, three of us make our way down to the cafeteria after you get changed," Daniel clone said.

Emily dumped a pair of black shorts that were around mid thigh, a navy blue shirt, and a pair of ratty old TOMS. The pair left, leaving me to wonder how this was going to work out. I slipped the blue t-shirt over the worn grey tank top that had been my companion for the past month and went to work on my pants. There wasn't a considerable amount of denim left, so I put on the shorts. I had always hated the type of people who wore TOMS. It had been a huge fad at my school, paying forty dollars for a pair of shitty shoes for a shitty company. But that wasn't the point. I put them on anyway, gesturing for them to come in.

Emily threw a bottle of water at me. With my skills, I got hit in the side of the head. She laughed, but I drank from it anyway. It was extremely refreshing. In fact, so refreshing that the scrapes from last night began to smooth out. It tickled when the skin started reforming. I sat staring at Daniel, waiting for an answer.

"Werewolf thing, but it only happens with water. David tried it with Coca-Cola, and his skin turned black for seven hours." The clone responded. _Werewolf thing. How many more "werewolf things" am I gonna have?_

Daniel took my hand like a gentleman and gestured to the front of the tent. I scooted off the hammock, and Emily latched onto my arm and cuddled delightedly into my biceps.

Parting the tent canvas, I was surprised to find that the entire campsite was in the middle of a desert. I could have guessed, but it just seemed like maybe we could hide somewhere more secluded... Like with trees and mountains and werewolf food. Maybe North America, or Russia or something.

Daniel pointed to the biggest tent in camp.

"That's the cafeteria. Emily, I think Dave was looking for you," the Daniel clone said in his deep British accent.

Emily looked up from her hiding spot in my arm. "Why would he want to see me? I didn't do anything wrong," Emily protested.

The duplicate shrugged. "I don't know, but you shouldn't put it off."

She looked disgruntled while she walked off in another direction.

"Hey Dan... Where's the bathroom?" I asked. I hadn't gone in over seven hours.

Daniel spread his arms out. He looked like he was trying to fly. "Everywhere! But actually, most people go behind the wall over there. You can go behind your tent."

I grimaced. "Ew, that's sick. I feel like I'm going in a huge litterbox," I groaned. This was really gross.

He laughed. "So does everybody. The wall is over there," he pointed to a wall behind the group of tents across from us. I walked over hesitantly. I really hoped the shitty shoes wouldn't leak.

I went on business, and grabbed some sand to clean my hands off. I felt pretty gross, not washing my hands like that, but I was a werewolf, right? _What am I gonna get, cholera?_

Daniel and I walked through the makeshift sand trail leading to a big tent. The camp was situated in the middle of a desert. The searing heat of the sun pressed against me, but I didn't feel as much discomfort as I should have. The little sand trail we were walking on came to a stop when we reached the front of the tent. He gestured to enter, and I was smacked across the face with a pungent scent of spices and meats.

Cafeteria food was never my thing. But I was so hungry, I could have eaten from the floor and not cared. The dirt floor was a bit discerning to someone who had eaten in a sanitized lunchroom all her life, but it would just have to do. Daniel clone gestured to a square table for two at the far end of the room. I guessed that we would be sitting there. He left me in line, waiting for food.

The entire tent was filled with people. It looked like they were having dinner or lunch or whatever. There were people of every single race and age, but none looked too old. I think the oldest was around thirty. Most of them had their bite marks on their legs, but a few of them had them on their midriffs. Even less actually had them on their arms or upper torso. I was the only one that had mine on my neck. They looked in my direction, but then turned away quickly. I was probably the "odd one out". I hoped it wasn't high school all over again. I guess I dropped out senior year. _Doesn't matter. Not like it was supposed to matter anyway. _

I stepped to the front of the line as the cook smiled at me and dumped some sort of green stew in a bowl and handed it to me. She ignored the bite mark. The man next to her handed me some bread, but didn't make eye contact. I looked around to see that Daniel was seated in the corner of the big tent, where there was less light and even less people.

I made my way through the mess of tables and sat down. Daniel gestured to the food, letting his hands speak for him again.

"It's kebab," Daniel clone said.

"I thought it was supposed to be on a stick," I said. _Confuzzling._

"No, that's kebab on a stick. Kebab is the actual mix of vegetables and meat. It's just a funny word for stew. Eat, you'll need your energy today. We're going out to train," he said. _Training? Do I have to keep going through that transformation again? Hell no._

"What kind of training?"

"Abilities. You've found yours. I have to say I've never seen anything like it. It's very unique, I'll give you that. Very useful. Oh... Can I talk to you about... Um, Emily?"

I furrowed my eyebrows. She didn't do anything wrong, and it was pretty rude of Daniel to shoo her off like that.

"What's wrong with her?"

"Nothing... I just wanted to explain why she gets so clingy."

"I don't mind, but sure, shoot."

He sighed. "I kind of feel like I shouldn't be the one to talk about this, but I need you to know. I'll tell you why later. I very much think that this concerns you. Five years back, Emily found her mated pair. They're very rare and it doesn't happen to most people. It can only be formed between a human or half human and one of us, or two of our kind. Anyway, she found her. Her name was Isabella, Izzy for short. She was a child of the moon, second generation, and had a very dangerous power: she was a pyrotechnic."

So Emily and Izzy grew close. Very close. And you know where we are... In Saudi Arabia, those things don't sit well with people. Police came for Izzy and Emily. Of course Izzy didn't die. She killed twenty people. She killed twenty people without even trying. She was so traumatized, so immersed in her own self hatred, she locked herself in an abandoned house, tied herself to a chair and lit the place on fire. Emily hasn't seen her since. She forgave both Izzy and herself a long time ago, though. She's clinging to you because your name and attitude remind her of her mate," Daniel clone finished with a sigh.

"Oh... That's... Terrible. Wait... Five years back? Wouldn't she be eight, or something?"

"Werewolves age slower when they are second generation. You, however, are first generation, so you will age normally."

"So...How do you know you have a mated pair?" I felt horrible about only being interested in the mating process. Here was Emily's life story, and I picked that one detail out. _I'm so horrible_.

"It's not often that it happens. In fact it almost never does. Only a select few are given a mate. It happens to one pair about every half century or so. Marvel, really. I wouldn't know what it feels like."

I swallowed the remainder of the food left on the plate. It was odd, how mating works. But I had more questions. The light shone faintly through the thick canvas, creating an almost candlelight effect. It was very strange. This whole place was strange.

"Do vampires smell bad to us?"

He laughed. "No, but grudges and prejudices cause them to believe we smell terrible. But they just smell different to us."

"How about, why does it look like it's four hundred degrees out there and you're comfortable in a jacket and jeans?"

"That's the marvel of werewolf temperature. We can be in the Sahara or in Antarctica, it would feel the same."

"Wow."

"Yes, wow. Finish eating. You have to go to train."

"Where's the real Daniel?"

That question caught him completely off guard. He sputtered, checking himself for sand or any sign that he might not look exactly like the real Daniel.

"It's okay, I can see auras, remember?"

He looked relieved. "He's training. Like you should be. Hurry up, I have to get going. I'll see you soon," he waved at me before dematerializing into sand.

I finished up quickly. The food was good, but not as good as say, Esme's cooking. It was food, and I was hungry. It really didn't make a difference. People started to trickle out of the big tent, but more were walking in. I could observe easily because I was seated practically in the emo corner. It was actually pretty funny. People would walk by without care, some would even wave to me, but when they caught sight of my scar they would avoid me like the plague. It was pretty discerning. Putting my bowl in a container filled with other ones, I waved goodbye to the cook. The whole room went quiet, but then got louder as I exited the tent. _Forks the second_, I thought. _I'm gossip central yet again._

I stepped out of the tent and made my way past the stray hoards of people. Several were entering their home tents, more were entering the cafeteria tent, but many were simply loitering around. I had no idea there were this many of my kind. It was surprising, really, how I was in a crowded desert with people who shared the exact condition I had, but I had never felt more alone. These people weren't my family. I was alone.

The crowd tapered off after I reached a wall of stone. I vaulted over it with a kind of practiced ease I had never known before. There, silhouetted by the setting sun, were four figures. One of them quickly decomposed into sand, so I could guess Daniel was there. The remaining three turned to me and waved. I waves back before jogging off toward them.

Emily started running right up to me, and I had to crouch down for her to hug me. She refused to let go, which made me remember what Daniel said. I sweeped her from her feet and carried her toward David and Daniel. She laughed delightedly. It was actually pretty adorable, how she could trust me so easily. She reminded me of Alice, and how much I wanted to carry her like this.

Wait.

_What?_

_I don't roll that way_... I've never rolled that way before. Sure, I've thought about Rosalie and Esme and also... Her, with all their inhuman beauty, but how impossible was it not to think about them? They all look like angels. Especially Alice.

There was just something different her.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

I looked down at the smiling girl below me. "You remind me of a friend."

She wriggled around a bit and laughed when I threw her up and caught her again. David ran over. He looked pretty beaten up from sparring with Daniel. His face was bruised, and he was a bit scratched up, but I was sure that he would be okay when he drank some water.

"Having fun?" David asked.

Emily crawled to my back, where she situated herself by sitting herself down on my shoulders.

"Yup. All fun. Bella, I think Daniel wants to spar with you," the girl said from her perch on my shoulders.

"Emi, you're going to have to get off of me if I'm gonna spar," I said, shaking myself for emphasis.

"Yeah, here," David easily lifted her off my shoulder and placed her on his own. She huffed, but nevertheless leaned on David's head. "Now Bella can go spar. Go, Bella, Daniel's waiting."

I turned to the sun to see Daniel standing barefoot in the sand, where he beckoned me to a rounded off spot. I did as ordered, stepping on the unusually hard sand. He stepped up to me and created one of his clones.

The clone stepped in front of me, waving. I was about to move forward and shake his hand, but the sand was pretty much stone when you sank into it. My feet were making indents that almost instantly hardened. It was like Moon Sand, in a way. Neil Armstrong could get his kicks down here. _Moon sand, moon sand, the sand that you can..._

"Okay, Bella, you're gonna learn the basic fighting techniques that work with our type. One, is the disorientation method." Daniel explained.

His clone turned to face him, took up a fighting position and ran toward him. Daniel brought his arms to his sides, and slammed them together on his opponents head. The clone staggered down before Daniel twisted his head off.

"Like that. Don't punch the sides of the head, you have to sort of box their ears and make them stagger. You have to hit them with the forearm," he said, before moving backwards and creating another clone.

The pseudo-Daniel ran toward me with blazing speed, and it caught me off guard. I was thoroughly disoriented as it tripped me and sent me falling into the sand below. I sunk into the sand, appearing directly behind the flustered clone. Thinking quickly, I slammed my forearms against the side of his head and he let out a yell of pain before disintegrating into the sand.

The real Daniel came up to me with a smile on his face. "Spectacular! Your power could be very useful in this type of situation. Use it to the fullest extent. Now for number two, the derailing method."

Daniel created yet another duplicate. This time it came at him clawing his hands and trying to scratch the real Dan. Daniel picked him up by the shirt and flung him over his body, causing the dummy to fly overhead and crash into the sand, merging with the particles. Daniel once again created a dummy for me.

The offender flung himself at me violently, successfully blocking my attempts to get a hold of him. I used my gift to my advantage and moved out from under him as he took a few steps toward me. Appearing closer than he expected, I used his momentum and my leverage to send him flying twenty feet into the air.

"Very good! Now just normal hand to hand sparring. My dummy won't hurt you, if he lands a hit it will feel like sand. Go on, practice. There's really no way I can teach you hand to hand, so you're just going to have to improvise," Daniel said from a few feet away.

The new duplicate didn't run or charge at me like the others, but actually circled me with his hands up. I mimicked him, hoping to learn. He sprung forward, slapping my hands downward. I was met with a face full of sand.

Daniel tsked behind me. I wiped the sand off and charged with my own set of punches. The clone easily dodged them, sending a kick to my stomach. I fell flat on the sand.

Sinking into the particles, I watched as the clone looked for where I was. I guess my ability was sort of like swimming, but with sand. I could see everything, but it was a bit distorted. I moved directly under the clone and sprung upwards, hitting the unsuspecting sand duplicate with an uppercut. He disintegrated on contact.

I heard cheers and whistles behind me. Emily, David and Daniel were all watching.

"How was that Dan?"

"Great! Now get over here, we have food!"

I nearly sprinted over there. I was starving. Nobody had to tell me twice.

Emily was playing with the hems of the picnic cloth while Daniel and David were taking food out of an enormous container capsule thing. The enormous cooler looked like it could feed an army. There was more kebab, some sort of steak, lots of bread, and a whole turkey. And also, there was a... Radio?

"What song is that?" I asked. I was honestly curious. Something struck me and told me it was familiar.

"The Parachutes album. Coldplay," David said, between bites of food.

_Oh._

I looked over at the setting sun. Somewhere, Alice was enjoying the same sunset. Somewhere, Alice was safe. It made me happy. But at the same time, it made me sad that I wasn't a part of that happiness. I wanted to see her smile again. I wanted to hear her laugh again. She made me happier than I had ever been before. Now I lost her. Again. Thanks to Fuckward and his stupid morals. Not that I didn't love him back then, but looking back, he was just a possessive bastard.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Daniel's deep baritone reached my ears. I turned to face him and the others. Emily was happily nibbling on a piece of bread while David was busy ravenously attacking a stray piece of meat. Daniel sat next to the radio, looking at me, waiting for an answer.

"Just thinking about friends," I said.

"What are they like?"

"They're... They were a family of vampires."

Somehow this didn't surprise him as much as it should have.

"Why aren't you freaking out and telling me vampires are horrible?"

He shrugged. "Because they're not. They're just like us. I was best friends with a siren before the genocide. The genocide was one thing but... A Jew doesn't hate Germans for simply being Germans."

Good analogy. "Is there a story to this?" He asked. _Why yes. Yes there is._

"Well, anyway. One of them fell in love with me, but then left me because he was 'too dangerous' for me. So I stayed there for a year. Then my boyfriend exploded into a wolf, but not our type of wolf. Then the big brother of the coven came back and planned to take us to London, but you bit me. I followed an aura to a friend of mine, and took her back to my new big bro, and then you kidnapped me. Now I'm here," I said, drawing in a breath.

Dan chuckled. "Long story made very short, it seems. What caught me was the trail. I know you see auras, but what made this aura stand out?"

I sighed. "It was a new color. I have no idea how to describe a new color. I guess it has a yellow purplish attitude, but at the same time leans toward a kind of blue orange. There's no words for it. It's beautiful," I explained. _Yeah. Very beautiful._

"Who was this again?" _Inquisitive Dan is kinda scaring me._

"We're not gonna go... After them, or anything, right?"

"Oh, no. No. Just a question. Made me curious," he said. _Thank god._

"Okay... Her name is Alice Cullen. But she found traces of her human name in a hospital because she couldn't remember. Her name is now Alice Brandon," I said.

"She couldn't remember her human life?" He was becoming more and more fascinated by my story.

"No, she couldn't. The only memory she had was of her new life."

"Hmm. Why do you think she didn't have memory?"

I absentmindedly reached for a piece of bread. "I don't know. It makes her sad, not knowing."

"I have a fairly good guess but I'll have to find out more... Finally! What took you so long?"

A Daniel clone ran over to the cloth we sat on, holding a large plastic guitar case. The clone unpacked the instrument, revealing a beautiful sunburst color and dreadnaught body. It looked worn, probably because the environment it was held in. Even the huge hard shell case had holes in it, and when the clone handed the instrument to Daniel, it sounded like a maraca from so much sand residue.

I had played guitar for a while before the Cullens took up all my time. I used to have my mother's old vintage from a zillion years ago. I wanted to buy a better one, one that was a better quality but she said that vintage things had attitude. It was true, that guitar turned out to be my ticket to Forks because when I sold it, I gained ten grand. I knew what a good guitar looked like, and this was it.

Daniel took the instrument from the clone before the duplicate burst into sand. He looked at me and questioned, "Know how to play?"

I shrugged. "Sort of. It's been a while, I'm a bit rusty," I admitted. "You can go, I don't mind."

Daniel placed the steel stringer onto his lap and began playing a song that we had just listened to. I couldn't quite remember the name, but I knew I had heard it before. It had a beautiful acoustic melody. It was very mellow, and didn't seem like something Emily would listen to, but nonetheless she came over to listen to Daniel play. I suddenly remembered where I heard the tune.

Alice had played it in her Porsche.

She talked about how she loved acoustic pieces. She said somewhere that it was her favorite song. It made me sad, thinking of her. Thinking about what she must be doing. Were they looking for me? Of course they were... Right? She missed me... Right? I don't want her to be unhappy, but... There was just so much going on. Everything was just too harsh. I missed all of them. But I missed my evil little pixie the most.

She had kissed me on the cheek more than once when I was human. Did that mean something? And then she slept with me—

Images of me and Alice and a bed and maybe some handcuffs wandered into my mind. I pushed them away immediately. No need to pee my pants, I just needed to think about hints.

Okay, she p_latonically_ slept with me. Did that mean something too? She thought I couldn't feel that she was cuddling into my chest. And the way she looked at me when I saw her for the first time in a year, there was something hidden... A flash of something. She touched my face before she started crying. What did that mean?

So many questions reeled into my mind. It was just too much. I wanted to stop thinking, but I couldn't. I wondered about everything except the angel vampire. My little angel. Come to save me from myself. I looked around. Maybe I could find her aura.

I caught sight of a depressing blackness from the direction of the camp. No auras anywhere. But turning around, you could see the deep oranges of the sun melting into purple before transitioning into a cloudless night. It was sunset.

Daniel stopped playing and Emily scooted over toward me. She wrapped her arm around my neck and pulled my head into her lap while David sat down to the left of both of us.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Emily broke the silence.

"...The sunset here is more beautiful than it was in Forks..." _But I know something that would make it perfect._

"Forks? That's a utensil..."

I smiled from atop her lap. "Forks, Washington, Emi."

The big yellow sphere lit up the sky wonderfully. The colors originated with a deep orange, then faded out into pink and purple. The two colors gave out to the black night. If I turned around, I could faintly see the stars blinking overhead. Even farther into the black was an almost full moon, creating a scene that looked as if the heavens themselves would part for an eclipse.

"Almost that time of the month again..." David said from behind me.

All three of us turned to look at him before bursting into laughter. I almost choked on my own spit from laughing so much. David looked confused, then it dawned on him what we were laughing about.

"Aw Ew. You guys call _me_ immature. Seriously? Wow." He rolled his eyes and continued looking at the ongoing sunset.

The little girl absentmindedly played with my hair as the last few inches of the sun tucked themselves under the horizon. Daniel got up and packed the instrument in the case, gesturing for David, Emily and I to follow as he walked toward camp.

I lifted myself off the ground. "What about all the stuff?" I asked.

Daniel lifted a hand. "I'll get it," he said, as about a dozen duplicates swarmed the area, picking up stray trash and the cloths that we put up. The real Daniel was already nearing the stone wall that we passed. Emily tugged on the edges of my navy blue shirt, so I looked over. She had her arms out, demanding a hug. I picked her up and set her on my shoulders like before. She was thoroughly amused by my hair.

David, Emily and I neared the camp a minute or so after Daniel did. David lifted Emily off of me, setting her on the ground.

"Goodnight Bella!" The two chorused while waving goodbye.

I waved back. "Goodnight guys!" The two went into their own respective tents. I almost didn't catch the faint footsteps from behind.

"I need to talk to you."

"Shit!" I jumped a good foot in the air. "Don't do that!"

Daniel was standing there with a smug smile. "No, seriously. Talk. Private. Your tent. Now," he took my arm and led me into my own tent. I sat down on the edge of the hammock, and he took a chair. He sat in it backwards, waiting for me to say something.

"What? You dragged me in here to talk," I protested. How was I supposed to know what he was talking about?

"So, you sure you have no idea why your Alice has no recollection of her human life?" _Damnit, no! I don't have an IQ of 170 like you do!_

"No, she never mentioned anything."

He sighed. "If I told you to recollect your time as a vampire, could you do it?"

I scoffed. "No, werewolf, remember?"

"Never mind. If I told you to remember something that never happened, could you remember it?"

I furrowed my eyebrows. "How could I?"

He looked flabbergasted. Maybe I was just too stupid for him. "Bella. Every angel has their demon. If Alice can't remember her previous life, wouldn't you try to find a trigger?"

I was still confused. "Um... I don't know... Yes?"

He shook his head and stood up. "Never mind again, I'm obviously confusing you. Goodnight Bella, the sink is to the left of the mirror and the world is your toilet. Remember that. Goodnight again," he said, before slipping past the thick tent flaps.

"Goodnight Dan," I said back.

I walked to the sink, brushed my teeth with a toothbrush I found on top of it, and checked myself for flaws in the mirror. I hadn't really improved much in terms of looking normal. Maybe hanging out with werewolves did that to you. I did, however, have a new scar. The small cut ran along my jawline. I was pretty glad it wasn't too noticeable. _I need to pee. Outside. Again. Ew._

I did my business and came inside. I still had no clue what Daniel meant to say by asking me all those questions. If anything, they confused me more than they helped. I didn't know what he meant by "could you remember if it didn't happen". I didn't let it worry me though, as I laid myself carefully upon the hammock.

Every angel has a demon. What is that supposed to mean? And what's with the cryptic answers?

What part of Alice couldn't remember her human life? What part thought it didn't—

And then it hit me, and I nearly tumbled to the ground.

Alice Brandon couldn't remember her human life, probably because she was never a human in the first place.

* * *

**Nother A/N:** Oh shnap! I have been waiting to pull that one out for the longest time... Giggity. I had writers block all week. I had seen such extreme acts of homophobia it scared the shit out of me. Thanks for that, humanity, I believe in you now. It's been weird, getting back to school. I'll be writing over the week, but I won't be updating until the weekends. I haven't been able to get on the computer, but I was still able to type.

Fun fact. This entire chapter was written on an iPhone. Hooray for Apple.

Song for today is You Could Be Happy by Snow Patrol. Fic for today is Jbern's "Bungle in the Jungle" series. It's a Harry Potter fic, but sort of gave me the inspiration for this fic. I warn you, it's in second person. Very annoying.

Cheers,

The Lazy Werewolf


	12. Eden

**Title: Cut the Ropes**

**Author:** LazyWerewolf

**Disclaimer:** See chapter 11

**A/N:** School is a bitch. So is going back to the five day school week. So updates back to a week... Sorry. I know I hate waiting for updates... So. Alice is no longer human. I suppose I could leave an explanation... But you know, that's boring. I was thinking of maybe leaving a small Alice POV diary of sorts, but then decided against it, unless you guys think differently.

If you guys don't mind, drop me a review down there. It helps me know what you think, and also gives a hell of a lot of encouragement. As usual, sorry for the bad grammar and spelling and stuff. Also, please shrink the size of the browser down so it looks like I actually wrote something :P

I know this chapter is way out of whack. Crackville to the max... But at the same time its not a crackfic... Don't worry, Emmett and Alice and friends will find Bella soon, just to get that out of the way :D

See you at teh bahtom.

* * *

**Eden**

The night crawled by achingly slowly. I had been plagued with insomnia as a child, growing up, and at Forks. However, I mastered slowing my heartbeat and controlling my breathing long ago, so I could pass off as sleeping even when wide awake. I knew Fuckward spied on me, but I didn't bother stopping him. I liked him too much.

Look at me now.

I had been sideways on a hammock, trying to coax myself into sleep. After a while, the fake sleeping didn't convince me. I had wandered outside, taking in the cold desert night.

The moon shone brightly on the campsite below. It illuminated everything, causing the sand and tents to glow. It was beautiful. Just a month ago, this same light lit up London. This same light lit up Forks, Phoenix, and south Cali. I swear, the moon was stalking me.

I sauntered over to the pee pee wall, trying to jump over as many nighttime messes as possible. Honestly, they should really scrub that thing clean or something. It smells like shit. The sand was unusually squishy under my feet, but I tried to ignore that as I silently trudged on.

The open desert stood before me. It was achingly empty, with no trace of anything. It was just a flat plane in all directions. I silently wondered to myself if I could make it, walking down the small sand trail that led to the moon sand patch.

I sat down on the unusually hard sand of the training area.

If I had food and water, which I _don't_, I could go twenty, maybe thirty miles in a day. That is, assuming exposure won't kill me. Or those water demon things don't come after me. I'm in the middle of Saudi Arabia, so I probably can't find cities that aren't hostile. More time hiking in the desert. Maybe I can get to a friendly country nearby. World Geography has taught me nothing. I believe Israel is safe... Or I could go south into Dubai. Either way I still have no way to contact anyone. I have Fucktard's cell, but no way in hell I'm calling him. I don't remember anyone's number except my dad's and Fuckwards... Damn. Mission impossible. I would get caught by the po-po, or the other doggies. Not a good option. But still.

I sat there for a while, contemplating my options. I could stay here and pretend everything was okay, which it wasn't. Even though these people were friendly and like me, I didn't like it here. Nobody knew my back story, so I was pretty much alone in my situation. I could wait until Alice could come find me... But come on, it's been like what, three days? If Emmett is as good of a tracker as everyone says he is, they should have found me within hours. Maybe they think I'm dead. I could buy that. I could also try and follow my tracks and head to London, but I have no supplies to make the journey. I would probably die, kill someone, or phase and kill everything. But I didn't want to stay, I knew that much.

_You know what? Fuck the consequences._

I nearly sprinted back to my tent and grabbed the pillowcase. I tore out the feathers of the down pillow before grabbing more canvas from the actual hammock. With my inhuman strength, canvas material, and a pillowcase, I fashioned a backpack to hold some bare essentials.

Looking around the tent, I found that there wasn't much to work with. I could probably make a waterskin out of some leather or something, but there was none of that here.

I had to think fast. I needed to grab food, water and tools.

First on the list: Water. I gathered the two water bottles that were scattered on the floor. Over at the sink, I filled them to the brim. I knew this wasn't enough, but if Bear Grylls has taught me something it's that there's water everywhere.

Second: Food. I guess I could raid the canteen. Maybe take that cooler that we had yesterday. I would take some food when I got a plan to go to the canteen.

Third: A knife, matches and probably twine or rope. Those could all be found in the canteen too. Except the twine. I could find that in here. I looked around, trying to find some rope. In the middle of the tents supports, there were several strands of rope of different lengths. I could take those, but then the tent would collapse. But then a glint caught my eye. Along the length of the tents edges, there was one huge rope keeping the edges balanced. I untangled the cord from its bonds to the canvas. After around a dozen knots, I had myself a ridiculously large amount of rope. Mission accomplished.

After packing the water and rope in the bag, I parted the tent folds and slowly tiptoed across the sand. The moon was on my side, lighting the backs of the tents and betraying no signs of motion. Just the sand and canvas rustling against the cold desert wind.

After a minute or so I found my way around the maze of tents and was met with the large canteen tent. I slowly slipped beneath the canvas, going at a pace that was too slow for comfort. But I knew it was necessary to remain quiet. Most werewolves probably don't wake up during the night because of the whole shifting thing, I'm guessing... But still, better safe than sorry.

_Wow, that's not ironic in the least._

I scurried over to the back of the pots and pans that littered the cooking area. _Knife... Knife... Knife... Knife... Knife!_ I found an unusually large hunting knife. Nearby was a carcass of some poor coyote or dingo or whatever. Now I know what the meat was. The sheath was a few feet away. It was big enough to scare a nineteen year old werewolf but not big enough to rip a hole through its backpack. Perfect, deadly and way badass. _My kind of weapon._

I still needed matches and some other supplies. Matches were easy; I found those under the pots. Not exactly smart keeping an entire box of matches under a stove, but hey, I wasn't complaining. The other supplies were a bit harder to get, mainly because I had no idea what the other supplies could be. _I'm sorry, I'm impossibly slow. Okay. I had food, water, knife, rope, matches... I could use some iodine tablets or a lighter or something. I guess iodine tablets are next._

The whole kitchen was turned upside down in search of the elusive little critters, until I finally found them. Why the fuck are they in a bag already? This is a fucking escape bag for God's sake... Wait. I parted the canvas sack and found many of the same things I had put in my own knapsack. Knife, rope, food, water, matches... What the hell? I can't have this person following me. I ripped up the sack and poured its contents into my own. Now I was double prepared.

I exited through the back of the tent. The night still covered my tracks extremely well. Wait... My tracks! I looked around the tent. Sure enough, there was a long trail of size nine footsteps.

_God damn everything._

_Wait._

_Bella has idea._

Ducking my head, I went into the abyss of sand. It was just like swimming, if not exactly like swimming, only I could breathe. Taking some doggy paddles toward the trail, I stuck a hand out into the cold and rearranged the particles. I did this along the remainder of the trail and went back to my original position near the back of the tent. No one had heard me. Massive ego boost right there.

The sand wrapped itself around my ankles as I sunk into the sand again. This was the only way I wasn't gonna leave footprints. Leave it to Bella to leave a whole trail of her own drool on her escape trip. It was more comfortable down here, definitely warmer than up there. I could still see the almost full moon.

Kicking the sand water slowly, I found that I had travelled a safe distance away from the camp. In fact, I had reached an almost mountainlike range of sand dunes.

Unusually high sand dunes, but fuck it, it's Saudi Arabia. What the fuck do I expect?

I sat down on one to admire the moon. There was some sort of connection I had between this big floating rock. I don't know. I guess it's just pretty tonight. It took up at least half the sky. I figure I must be a superhero to get this high. Just cause I'm a were. I'm a superwere. Fuck the world. Bring it on bitch. I can take anything you throw at me.

"WHAT THE FUCK!" _Except that._

_I take it back._

_UNCLE, DAMNIT! FUCKING UNCLE!_

I think my life is out to get me. Just as the moon reached its zenith at the top of the sky, something starts stirring the monsters in the sand out to get me. The sand shifted, and creeped up my legs and covered my arms. The dune was trying to eat me. I squirmed, but that only agitated the sand even more, causing entire ropes of it to pull me down into the sand.

More sand levitated itself onto me, trying to pull me down into the dune as I struggled. I was very, very threatened. Apparently my body found out about this, sending white hot spikes of heat down my spine and spread down to my limbs. That, along with the hands trying to pull me further down into the sand drove me mad. The heat was unbearable. My bones were twisting and cracking under and above the demon sand. The human side of me struggled against the sand, pedaling fruitlessly against the ropes, but it was no use. I tried to keep myself afloat as the change attacked my bones and muscles simultaneously. The sand was creeping into my ears and suffocating me slowly. _I am going to die. _Flailing my arms, I tried to get above the sand level. I couldn't breathe, and the change and my movement weren't helping the cause. Sand trickled down my throat as I tried to take a breath. I coughed wildly. The sand was drowning me.

I gave up trying to get out. It clearly wasn't going to let me. Instead, I ducked under the blanket of sand, trying to swim through it like I did before. Sinking even further into the sand water, I nearly shrieked when I came face to face with a man made of sand. An actual sand demon. Just my luck.

If he could scream, he would be louder than a banshee. His mouth was gaping open, in a soundless shriek. The man thing swung his arms violently at me, nearly ripping my face off. Anger. This bastard needs to be put in his place. I took a swing at him, my punch going straight through his head. The man was knocked backwards. However, he quickly recovered, scratching and swinging his arms toward me. I tried to backpedal, but failed because his left hand caught hold of my arm. He jerked his hand to the side and kneed me in the face, knocking me out cold.

* * *

My eyes burst open. I was in a lake of sand, eons away from the surface. Sand man was nowhere to be seen. I was floating. I could faintly remember being in this situation before. Oh, poolside bullies. I never expected you to haunt me past third grade.

"Mmph!" Bubbles floated up from my mouth and to the air level as I did a grunt of pain. I looked around in the sand. No man. Ripped up remnants of clothes clung to my body but my hair floated out in all directions. I probably looked like I just got in one of those freak gravity machines.

The sand mummy thing dissolved into sand and just disappeared. And before I got a chance to punch his balls through his skull. The sand swirled around me, and I figured it was time to move. The sun hung low in the sky, but was luckily still up. I lazily floated toward the surface, taking a deep breath when I reached the air.

I sighed. Air. Sweet, delicious air. The sand behaved like water under me as I rolled onto my back, floating in the soft particles. The sun was on one side of the sky, illuminating it with the glimmer of a sunrise, and the moon was on the other, simply hanging low in the sky. It was truly beautiful. Either that or I'm just an idiot who's easily impressed by things. Clear blue skies, cloudless horizon, and a beautiful sunrise. Life has its moments.

Finally my head hit the shore of the sand ocean, hair mixing with sand. I pulled myself up onto the dirt, spreading my limbs out on the macabre shore. Man, I was sore as fuck.

Pulling myself up on my haunches, I looked at the lake of sand I had been drowning in a few hours ago. Damn. It was no different than the rest of the sand and water surrounding it. It almost looked like I was never there. It was hidden, due to the other little sand beaches and lakes of water.

_Wait. What?_

I lifted myself up and looked around. My jaw would have fallen off my face if it was possible. My knees grew weak and I felt the most fear I had ever felt in my lifetime.

There were so many.

For miles around, there were puddles of demon water and more sand dunes covering them in. I could shoo away one, and maybe kill one with help- but what about a dozen? A hundred? A thousand? The valley of death spread out for miles away. Something inside me clicked.

_Warning. Warning. You're a total dumbass._

I stumbled backwards and nearly tripped before finally realizing the magnitude of shit I was buried in. I turned around, seeing nothing. No camp, no backpack, no trail... Only mini lakes of demons and more demon sand dunes. How the fuck was I supposed to get out of here?

I plopped myself back down on the sand. Ugh. Coherent thought. Where the hell would I go? No option going back to camp. I guess I could swim until I found a city. That would always be good. But what's gonna happen when they see me?

Fuck it, I'm a werewolf.

I sunk under the sand again, steering clear of the cocooned sand monsters and the puddles of demon water. The sand embryos were see through, and each of the hell breeders held one sand man. Under each dune lay a sand man egg, the people inside twitching and moving. It was terrifying, seeing so many of the hell bringers in one place. And there were a whole lot. As far as the eye could see. Damnit, I'm up for a fight if I surface.

I still couldn't find a city or town, but pretty soon the miles of sand babies were dwindling. In fact, after a while they tapered off to maybe one every dozen piles of sand. I guessed it was safe to surface.

I poked the tip of my head up over the air line. Nothing. I let my eyes slip past the air line. Nothing still. I took my entire head out of the sand. Nothing.

Forcing my elbows past the air line, I lifted my torso up and out of the sand. It was still clear, and as I lifted my body out of the sand, I caught sight of something very beautiful.

I always wondered what they meant by "Hanging Gardens". This, however was a slightly more literal term.

Imagine a huge copper bowl with a forest inside it, being levitated by a continuous fountain of sand. I never would have thought such a thing was possible. I was apparently on a ridge and before me was the feat of construction, but the area beckoned to me, called to me in a way nothing ever had before, except for one thing. Little Miss I-was-never-human reciprocated this feeling within me. But that wasn't the point. The point was that I need to get on that thing. But how the hell was I supposed to do that? The thing was over one hundred feet in the air. Well, what I could do is...

I ducked my head under the sand for what seemed like thousandth time today to put my plans into action. I didn't need to swim far; I only swam three feet before my fingers poked through the surface. Sand violently scraped against them, causing me to jerk them back. I swam upwards until my head collided with something hard.

What the fuck is this? Copper?

The metal was cold to the touch. Sure enough, if I looked down, I could see the cyclone of sand levitating this monstrosity upwards. I was pretty high up. This was what I wanted. I slowly crawled across the copper surface, nearing the edge of the sand fountains range. Soon, the sand thinned so much that if I took another push forward, I would fall. I prepared myself for the moment of glory.

I poised myself to frog jump upside down. Pulling back on my haunches, I burst forward and pushed off the copper surface. I was in the air.

I used my hands to gain some momentum as I reached for the edge of the copper bowl lifting the garden up.

Just a bit more, a bit more...

My fingers grazed the edge of the copper surface. I mentally rejoiced. But the joy turned to despair as the hold I once had on the edge slipped.

Fuck.

Suddenly the wind began blowing. Sand blew in a different direction. The wind blew so hard, in fact, that it pushed me closer to the edge of the copper plate, just enough so that I could get a hold with my right hand. Then it suddenly stopped, and left no trace of it's ever being there. I still had my hold on the plate, though, and I was grateful for that much.

My left arm flew wildly as I struggled to get my other hand up. The rims of the bowl cut into the flesh of my right hand, causing it to bleed. I bit my lip, trying to hold back a scream. I still struggled to get a handhold, but finally I managed to hook the fingers of my left hand onto the copper plate. I hastily pulled myself up, Prince of Persia rolling onto the grass.

Wow.

This was the Garden of Eden. I sat up on my elbows, taking in the scenery. I have no words for how beautiful it was. There was everything I would ever want; a vast forest visible beyond the small flower garden, and if I looked hard enough I could see the makings of a beach. Someone decided that maybe I had enough of life's shit, and that I deserved a break. I could stay here forever.

The place that I was in seemed to be the garden part. There were small, organized rows of varieties of flowers I had never seen before, each magnificently colorful. Along each of the rectangular flower beds were little rivers, probably for irrigation. The entire thing seemed self sufficient. There was sun, water and the soil was good. I would know, because I was burying my cut up hand in it now.

What? My hands hurt. The flesh sealed together after a minute or two, leaving behind a slight sting. It did, however, leave a prominent scar. Hmm. I never scar. Whatever. Time to corrupt heaven.

After I got up, I noticed that my shoes were gone. Not that it mattered much, because the grass felt soft. The flowers were beautiful, but what caught my attention was the vast forest that surrounded the gardens. It was beautiful. Massive evergreen pine trees spread out over a huge, slightly mountainous landscape. It was similar to Forks, but the thing was that this place was completely untouched. It was pristine, no human involvement. The trees seemed healthier, and the grass glowed below my feet as I stepped toward it.

Something was nagging at me not to go further, but I didn't care. Everything was just so perfect. Like maybe karma was sick of fucking with me and decided to give me a break in my own personal heaven. This feeling just wouldn't go away though. Like maybe time passed by quicker here. Well, time does fly when you're having fun.

The forest within was indeed very massive. Everywhere you looked, all you saw were towering pine trees. The climate was brisk enough, not searing hot or freezing cold. It wasn't windy or anything, it was just comfortable. An occasional breeze ruffled my hair or t-shirt. Perfect.

After about fifteen minutes of continuous walking, I came upon something so beautiful it was unimaginable.

The trees leaves were a bright, cyan blue. It was fluorescent too. It looked out of place. The tree kind of resembled a live Joshua tree, beautifully sculpted by something. The other trees in the surrounding area were fine, though, so whatever made this thing go crooked certainly wasn't natural. Maybe it was that bird perched on the branches. The bird was, if there's no other word for it, angelic. Its feathers resembled something out of a renaissance painting. The face was hidden, but it was an ivory color. It was really beautiful.

I approached the tree with utmost care. The bird didn't seem threatened or startled by me at all. In fact, it was kind of examining me. No. It was _analyzing_ me. The bird followed every movement of my body with its eyes. It had odd color eyes. They were a cross between a honey and a brass. I carefully inched my way toward the tree, but the bird wouldn't budge.

I was already touching the tree when the bird jumped from its branch and perched closer to me. _This bird has the biggest pair ever._ I lifted my hand and touched the leaves of the Joshua tree. They were like silk, except they changed colors when I touched them. The leaves reacted to my hand, darkening a shade before returning to their cyan hue. The bird was still watching me. Biofluorescence, I believe it was called. I pulled a leaf from its stem. It immediately lost color, turning to a muddy brown instead of its beautiful cyan. However, when I put it back on the tree, it turned back to normal.

"Shoo," I shook my hands toward the bird and it flew off. Immediately, the tree turned from its bright cyan hue to a dull brown. The bird flew off onto another tree. "No, wait, come back you bloody pigeon!" I followed the bird as it flew from tree to tree, avoiding my lunges. It flew just out of my reach, taunting me. I was panting just as it reached the gardens. It kept flying and flying and flying, and it just would not stop. "Come back, stupid bird! You killed the tree!" I sprinted after it, my bare feet crushing half of the flower beds. I was almost catching up to it.

_Almost, almost..._

"Gotcha!" I lunged for it one last time, catching one of its tail feathers. I jerked downward and tried to grab it, but it flew out of my reach. I was expecting to hit ground. I was wrong.

That was a big mistake. Freefalling was not fun.

The wind pulled my face back and I writhed around in space. How fast is terminal velocity for a werewolf holding a tail feather? "FUCK YOU, BIRD!" Bad idea, bad idea, bad idea. My heart hit the roof of my mouth as I fell, trying not to dislocate anything. I was higher up than I remember; what seemed to be fifty feet could have probably been five hundred. My heart was pounding at a mile a minute. I felt as though any minute, I could have a stroke or a heart attack because of it. And then, I landed.

But it didn't hurt at all.

In fact, I just landed. Not on my feet, of course. Clumsy Bella doesn't have that much coordination. But it didn't hurt either. I just got a mouthful of sand. I lifted myself up to look for the bird.

"What the fuck?" The big copper bowl was nowhere to be seen. _How the hell could something so big just disappear? It was just desert again!_ There was no trace of its existence.

I immediately got up, ruffling my shirt to shake off the sand. I was still barefoot, but at least it wasn't hot. I guess it should be, because the sun loomed over the sparkling desert. I looked around. If you looked hard enough, there was a small town bustling with activity in the distance. I guess I should probably go, seeing as I have nowhere else to be.

The sand sunk under my feet as I walked on. I had time to think; the town was a few minutes away. Alice Brandon-Cullen-Hale is not human. What the hell? How could she have been not human, and then turned vampire? That just doesn't make sense. Is there such thing as half creatures? Fuckward said that Rosalie was all doom and gloom because she couldn't have a baby... So no, half breeds can't exist. Was she a Quileute? No, because the vampire that bit her would have noticed the smell... Could she be one of us? No. She would have been a human. What else could she be? There's not much besides this... What did Daniel say about different species? Sirens, archangels... Those are the only two left...

Sirens are fish people... Archangels are from paintings. She is neither part fish nor does she have wings. I don't understand.

The buzzing of the town reached my overly sensitive ears. The people were stirring upon seeing my pale skin, but most of them didn't seem too bothered. They actually ignored me for the most part, returning to their usual business and turning their backs to me. I didn't feel out of place barefoot, because the little children and almost all of the adults wore no shoes, or some TOMS. The entire town was actually larger than I expected. There were buildings ranging from large to very small but they all shared the same basic details. Very traditional, with some chips and dents the years placed. I walked further into the city, passing merchants yelling to me in Arabic and small children playing with playground toys. At one point the sand faded to cobblestone brick, letting me know I was closer to the city center. The entire place mixed traditional scenarios and new technology very well, because I passed a few ATMs before reaching the centre of the city.

There was a large ornate fountain in the center of the town square. Nobody seemed to notice me. In fact, if they did, they might even send me a smile or a wave, in which case I would respond with the same. Occasionally, though, a few would try to get out of their way because of me. The fountain was relatively solitary, with only a few people sitting on its edges. Their grey auras flickered around. No familiars to be seen.

I plopped myself down on the edge of the fountain, letting the sun heat my hair and the sprinkle of water cool my back. I was alone. Again. But this time, I wasn't a liability. I could fend for myself. Not that it mattered. I still had no communication, food or anything. My main goal was to find my way back to Alice. And Emmett, Rose, Embry and Jazz. But really mostly Alice. I'm not gonna lie to myself.

A male voice spoke up from my side. "Excuse me, miss? I'm afraid your shirt is soaked through," it said. I looked down. _Shit. I'm never wearing grey again._

I looked in the direction of the voice. A man of about twenty stood in front of me. He was wearing a plain black sweatshirt and canvas pants, along with a rudimentary pair of sandals. I looked up at his face. No doubt he was very handsome, his features were perfect; flawless even. His short hair was in natural curls, with a few sticking out to the sides. But what caught my attention were his eyes. They were a bright yellow color. Just like mine.

I spoke up. "You're one of us, aren't you?" He didn't look surprised at all. As a matter of fact, he looked very calm in face of my accusation.

"Yes. My name is Alexander. Here, some people are starting to stare," he said. He took off his sweatshirt and handed it to me. I quickly put it on, regretting my decision to wear the uniform grey tank top. Damn my limited wardrobe.

"What do you want? Why are you so far from camp?" I probed.

He shrugged, and held out his hand. "I could ask the same of you. We need to talk. I'm here on my own, not on behalf of Daniel."

I pondered what to do. I might as well; I don't have anything to lose. If Emmett and Alice and friends hadn't found me yet, I was probably dead to them. And I definitely don't want to o back to camp. I took his hand and said, "How do you know Daniel?"

He led me along the cobblestone path toward a more secluded section of the town. His left hand pulled his collar down, revealing a scar similar to mine. "He is my creator as well."

The two of us walked down an alleyway. "However my... Ability let me know I wouldn't live if I stayed where I was. I ran away. I know you're wondering what that ability is. I can see the definite future," he said as we walked through a doorway into a small, cramped apartment like structure. There were clay pots everywhere on the stone shelves, and the stove and other appliances were relatively primitive. The only thing that was out of place was the shiny chrome refrigerator, but even it seemed worn down due to the sand. Alexander gestured to a wooden chair, so I sat down.

"Why did you bring me here?" I asked. He got up and gathered something out of a pot, and ghosted around the kitchen, grabbing different items.

"I saw you become trapped in the garden. I thought you were condemned to death, but my gift said differently. We have limited time, because the pack will be looking for you. Ask questions."

He walked over with a delicious smelling plate of whatever, which he gestured to eat. I picked up the leaves by hand, manners be damned.

"Why are people avoiding me?"

"Long ago this town was vampire feeding ground for an Egyptian coven. However, our kind drove them out and in turned saved the people here. Throughout the generations, people still remained grateful."

"What was that thing I walked into?" I asked between bites.

He sat down across from me, his long legs positioned out under the table. "That thing... We call it the Garden of Eden. We don't really know what it is, but we have a clue. We think that when fate doesn't know what to do with you, it sends you there. If legends are true, it's where those who deserve it earn their place in Heaven."

I stopped chewing for a moment. "Who's 'we'?"

"Anyone who chose to leave."

"You mean there are more?"

"Yes. It is a rare occurrence, because the garden seldom appears to any."

"Why me?"

"I don't know. But my gift says that you're very important. You do know why Daniel came to get you, right?"

I shook my head.

"Because you were being hunted. By vampires. More specifically, by the Volturi."

I dropped my food and blanched. That name was familiar. In fact, that name had caused more than one of my troubles.

"Why?"

"You were in London, if what Daniel told me is correct. Volterra is only a few countries away, in Italy. If the Volturi caught word of your mere existence, they would come looking for us. In other words, genocide number two," he explained. I'm a target for the world's most powerful coven of vampires. Karma is out to get me. "When you crashed into that building, it was on the news. Huge explosion blows up London bank office. It gathered too much attention. The Volturi would have found you in days."

I swallowed. "Daniel told you all this?"

"Yes, but he does not know of this meeting. He must not know. Daniel is thirsty for revenge against the Volturi. He believes that their entire meaning, their existence, must be eradicated. He wants to use the Hanging Gardens as a weapon. Later you will meet the Alpha of the pack. His name is Zeus, he is a very dangerous man and you must comply with whatever he says. Say yes, no matter what his offer is. He can make your life hell on earth if you refuse. You have twenty minutes before a man named David finds you. I will give you this," he handed me a pair of keys. "These are the keys to a motorcycle down the alley. Take it and go. You have never been here. You don't know my name. Go, but if you ever wander out of camp you need to return."

He shooed me out the door and shut it behind me. I wandered down the alleyway. What the fuck just happened? My life should be a movie. The Hanging Gardens of Eden. What the fuck. And then this fortune-teller saying that pretty much the whole world was out to get me. The adventures of Bella in Marijuanaland. I must be on LSD or something. _Seriously? In less than a month, I find the existence of werewolves, not to mention get bitten by one, move to London, get mistaken for a terrorist and get kidnapped by a cloning werewolf and a fortune-telling werewolf. Damnit._

The bike down the alley wasn't anything special, and resembled a cop bike but without the police decals and siren. It looked pretty run down, average. Won't bring attention. I mounted it, and put the keys in the ignition. It started up below me. I sped forward, entering a street with several cars and other bikes as well. I took the little bike down a turn, and was surprised at how well it maneuvered. It was actually pretty fun. I rode the bike for a few more turns down streets, delighting in its mechanics and acceleration. I was having so much fun that I almost didn't notice a tall, tan boy in my way.

I put on the brakes hastily to avoic hitting him. "Hey, what's your deal!" He shoved the bike before almost moving on. But he turned back. "Bella?"

Shit.

"Dave?"

David ran over to the side of the bike, stopping it in mid traffic. I had to do a sort of illegal park on the side of the road to get out of the middle. "Bella! We've been looking everywhere for you!"

"Bella!" A voice from behind me perked up, and suddenly I felt something land on my back.

"Hey Emi..." Emily snuggled into my hair and held onto my back, using me as a perch. David looked frustrated, probably from my being gone.

"Bella, where were you?" The dreaded question. How the hell was I supposed to explain getting attacked by a sand demon, finding the Garden of Eden and finding a man named Alexander who happens to have premonitions?

"Um, I couldn't sleep, so I went exploring..." _And that is how it's done._

"Why didn't you warn one of us?"

"It was a spontaneous decision..."

Emily looked up from her place in my hair. "Dave, leave her alone! She didn't do anything wrong!" she said.

David sighed, looking defeated. Whipped. "Either way, we have to get back. It's almost six. We have to get to camp before... Everyone changes..." He frowned. It was apparently a touchy subject.

"Bella, what's with the bike?" Emily asked, pointing to the little motorcycle.

"I found it, with the key in the ignition. It wasn't anyone's, so I took it." They bought my vague explanation, but instead if making me leave it, David picked it up with inhuman ease and loaded it into the back of a truck. He opened the doors and gestured to enter. Emily ran toward the door, and I had to follow her. _Where else could I go?_

The door shut behind me and I seated myself in the backseat. Emily and David were riding up in front, the bike was in the back and I was in the backseat. David started up the loud engine on the truck, and drove past the pedestrians onto a dirt path.

The rest of the ride was pretty quiet. I didn't say anything, and the radio was never turned on. Occasionally, Emily would ask David when we were going to get there, to which he would respond "soon". Once we were out of the city, David had the truck go down a higher path. The desert zoomed around us. Nothing was out of place; the desert was flat and dry. No demon sand creatures and no Garden of Eden. Damnit. I could have gone down this road and saved myself all that trouble. Now I know how to escape the camp in case I can't sleep again. Why was I here in the first place?

Oh. Right. But that's not the point anymore. I'm dead to them. They're not looking for me. They don't give a damn about me anymore.

The tips of canvas tents came into view about fifteen minutes later. I didn't think about much during, just how the desert seemed endless. Emily turned around in her seat and gestured for me to exit. I did as she said, and exited the car. We were parked right outside the tents, with the food tent only a few meters away from us. Emily grasped my hand and took her spot on my arm again. David led the two of us into the middle of the camp; however, the entire place was deserted. There were none of us around.

David turned around to explain. "Born werewolves... They shift during the full moon, plus whenever they want to. They are significantly more powerful than bitten ones, like us, and they are also much larger. What they do is they hold large communal 'shiftings' right before the full moon, so nobody can get out of place. The full moon drives them insane; it causes them to lose their humanity. But when they willingly shift, they have their conscience. We have to stay here, while Daniel and the others get back from the shifting. It's gonna be 'till morning."

_Wait... Damnit, what the fuck!_

"So, Daniel didn't mean to bite me? It was just the full moon and his stupid hormones? Damnit, I'M A FUCKING ACCIDENT?"

I put my hands in my hair and tried to squeeze some sense into my head. _If it weren't for stupid hormones, you would still be in London, with Rosalie, Emmett and Embry. But at the same time, if it weren't for stupid hormones, I would have never sensed Alice in the city. But still, I could still be human! I didn't want this!_

David stepped forward with his hands up. Emily squeezed my hand, trying to calm me down. "Bella, most of us are accidents. I'm an accident. Dave's an accident. Nobody chooses to give you this life," Emily said from her place in my arm. Her voice calmed me down, so I kneeled down to hug her. She hugged back, and David sat a few feet away, trying not to disturb us.

But she was born, how could she be an acciden—Oh."Thanks, Emi. I won't bring it up again." The little girl left her place and smiled. Little mini Alice. Well, mini-_er_ Alice.

David said something about there being food, and led me to the food tent. There were less people, certainly, but the few who were left had a sort of aura to them. They all had little cores of black within their grey auras. David's collar aura tensed up, but Emily's remained free.

I finally got to the front of the line, and grabbed my food to go sit with David and Emily. But something grabbed my arm. I turned around to see a man in his fifties staring back.

The politically correct word to describe this man was 'beefy'. He had a beard that consumed his whole chin, with a sort of zebra stripe in the middle. His face was worn with age, and so were his hands. He put a hand out to greet me. I grabbed it, wondering what he would want with me.

He spoke with a very thick Arabic accent, and he said, "My name is Zeus. I am the leader of this pack, and I would very much like to have a word with you."

I turned back to Emily and David, who were obviously trying hard not to eavesdrop. Alexander was right. He was the Alpha, how could I say no? "Um... Sure..." He wore a smile on his worn down features. Zeus gestured to an empty table. The two of us sat down before he began to speak again.

"I have asked for your audience because I sense there is a problem. You have an odd scent on you; I am here to say that relations with vampires are not permitted here."

* * *

**Nother A/N: **The Adventures of Bella in LSD-land. Yay! A whole lot just happened. Bella found the garden of eden, which isn't really the garden of eden, but... Did you catch the symbolism with the bird right there? Did ya? Alex plays a huge part in the story... He's the only good guy actually... :D so. Was that too much? Yeah. Yeah it was... I'm writing this as I go along XD bahahaha. Drop a review down there. Love it? Hate it? Want to punch me in the face? No, you don't :P so see you next week, I guess. Its been really hard writing, for some reason. I don't know why. I guess its just with everything going on right now. So, main antagonists: Everyone. Protagonist: Bella Swan. Remember that.

Drop a review! C U laterz.

Cheers,

The Lazy Werewolf


	13. Left Right Left Right Left

**Title: Cut the Ropes**  
**Author: **LazyWerewolf  
**Disclaimer: See chapter 11**  
**A/N:** I hate the authors that beg for reviews, but still, I check my inbox every hour to see if I have any new reviews. I know, desperate, right? Sure, a new mysteryguitarman vid is great, but I would much rather have a review alert instead :D I prefer you guys to mysteryguitarman. Be happy. It was a whole lot easier for me to write this chapter because I write fast paced stuff easier. Either that or massive fillers with Alice. Either one.  
Another thing, please please **PLEASE** make your window smaller when you read this! You WILL miss out on parts that are important if you don't! I know this because I read my own fic on fullscreen (-.-"), and I missed half of the good details, but when I shrunk it down it was all good.  
See you at teh bahtom**.**

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**Left Right Left Right Left**

_"His name is Zeus, he is a very dangerous man..."_

He didn't look like he was dangerous. Certainly his guards looked dangerous, but the man himself; no. I could take him. He was basically saying that I would have to never to see my family again, in return for staying at this bloody camp. I spoke in calm, collected tones. "What if I said no?"

He leaned back in the chair, which creaked underneath his weight. "I offer you sanctuary, and you refuse? I am a man of few words. We are planning to ambush the very vampires you so defend. The Volturi menace will be no more, and I am offering you a place in the most powerful army on the face of the earth. I, myself," he brought his hand to his chest to accentuate the phrase, "would not refuse such an offer."

_"You must comply with everything he says..."_

I left my food untouched and got up. "I'm not you, am I?"

His face seemed to contort in anger for a fraction of a second, before his aged features returned to normal. "Do not refuse me, pup. Vampires are your enemy; I am protecting you. I'm giving you a choice; either die by their hands, or stay with us."

_"Say yes, no matter what his offer is..."_

I gritted my teeth together. He has no power over me. "No."

His face stayed in anger this time. He was obviously not used to refusal. The man swiftly got up, and slammed his hands on the table. Wood cracked beneath his palms. The two guards at his side tensed. The entire room had its eyes on us; the probie and the Alpha. David and Emily looked extremely anxious, probably worried for my safety. However, the Alpha merely sat back down. Zeus took a few deep breaths and settled himself; the two guards around him relaxing. I relaxed as well, reaching over to pocket some food before I got caught. People quickly put their plates up and left the room, leaving David and Emily as the only spectators.

The air around me was very thick, literally. I could feel the hairs on my arms and the back of my neck raise. If I would have moved, I would have probably shocked my fingers off. The static was so thick you could probably plug an outlet into my nose and have it work, too. This situation was getting way too dangerous.

David and Emily seemed to sense this, so Emily walked over to where I was standing and slipped her hand into mine. I felt her gently press her body against mine, giving me moral support. David walked over as well, covering Emily and I and put a hand on my shoulder, gently pulling me back. I decided it was best to leave. However, Zeus decided differently.

"Very well. Escort the girl out. Tent number seven. Tent six is getting too messy." The two guards inched toward me. It was three against one, because I wasn't going to drag two innocent people into this. Apparently the two hand a plan. Emily opened her hand in mine, slipping the cold teeth of a pair of keys into my hand. I squeezed back. Motorcycle keys. David shifted the hand on my shoulder. I looked over. He looked anxious. In fact, the entire room was tense. The once grayscale aura of Zeus turned a raging green lightning storm. His two guards held identical brown auras of shields. Emily's orange aura of clouds was concentrated around her, and David's blue collar shook in fear. If I glanced through my peripheral vision, I could see the side of David's hand. On his hand in big bold letters was the word "RUN". What was that about tent number seven?

The two identical guards stepped up. I couldn't see most of their face because they were wearing masks, and since all werewolf eyes look the same that didn't help much either. The one of the left approached, and David and Emily simultaneously squeezed my hand and shoulder. The pair left me to the monsters, leaving the canteen. The tent was deserted now except for me, the guards, and Zeus himself. The gruff man growled through his teeth, his eyes visibly lightening and his nails digging into the wood of the table.

"Kill her."

This was my cue to run. I remembered watching the movie "Inception", where Leonardo DiCaprio would run as the world around him slowed down because he was thinking so fast. It was kind of like that now. I felt like time stopped just to give me a half second head start on the hunters, but I sure as hell was grateful for it. I pushed my frozen legs against the ground, and sprinted toward the tent entrance. I pushed over tables and knocked down chairs, anything to get them out of the way. However, I underestimated the speed of the pair. The two blazed through the makeshift obstacles I put up, or rather pushed down, for them. I could sense them gaining speed.

I burst into the cold desert air, with the full moon looming over the grey glowing sand. The two behind me weren't fazed by the moon like I thought they would be, but the sound of ripped clothing and angry growls told me that something behind them was. I fumbled with the keys in my hand. I needed to lead them through a maze so I could have enough time to get on the bike. Maybe I could head down the home tents and come out the back of my old tent; there's still a hole in the back of it because of my canvas ripping.

_Ready? Go._

I took a ninety degree turn into a corridor of tents, throwing them off for a second. I took another sharp turn my tent, which was still in its state of disarray for the time being. I crashed into the supports while I tore my way through, causing the tent to fall on one of the hunters before I could get caught under it. The other was nowhere to be seen.

There he is. _Speak of the devil._ The other one was sprinting toward me at a monstrous speed. It nearly caught me off guard, but my new reflexes caused me to grab his shirt without thinking. I flung him over my shoulder with the judo throw that Daniel taught me. _Thank God for good werewolves._ The two were incapacitated, which meant I could go back for the bike. I didn't slow down though. Too dangerous to take a risk.

I retraced my steps and began taking a different path to the cafeteria tent. I knew that going back the way I came would be suicide because Mr. and Mrs. I'm-going-to-kill-you were still over there, but nonetheless a bit dazed. The route was a bit confusing, until I felt a rock hit my head and looked around.

David was a few feet away. I ran toward him, and he did the same. He handed me a piece of paper before he began talking. "Alex is waiting. This is his address, if you can't find him it's because he already knows you're... Well, dead. Good luck. Go. The cycle is right across from the entrance. And also..." David swiftly wrapped his arms around me and held me tight. I hugged back, knowing I probably wouldn't be seeing him soon. And for a few seconds, it wasn't about my imminent death by werewolf, or the Volturi hunting me down. It was about two friends saying goodbyes to one another. But then he pulled back. "You won't be seeing me again." The werewolf planted a kiss to my forehead. He looked at me one last time before he turned around and ran in the direction of the guards. I stood there shell shocked, until my brain kicked into gear. I still had to get out of there.

Key and map in hand, I ran toward the central corridor. There was no one stopping me, and the path was clear. Way too good to be true. Not that I wasn't grateful for the break, I just knew something terrible was about to happen. I ran in the direction of the entrance, away from the canteen. I held the key and map as if they were a lifeline. I tried not to think that they were, though.

_And there it is._ I heard a huge bellow coming from behind me, and I had just a second to peek back behind me. There was a huge green lightning storm sending rays bigger than the horizon in all directions. The tent canvas had been torn apart and now hung limply to a huge body. In the middle of it all was a huge, convulsing wolf man. It was much bigger than I was as a wolf; in fact I think it had a good five feet on me. It snarled and twisted its head before snapping it back in place and turning to face me. Its bright yellow eyes bore into my skull. It let out a roar. Zeus was coming.

I kept running at full blast as I continued to hear roars coming from behind me. The camp gates were in sight; all I had to do was... _No! Goddamnit, no!_ The bike that David said would be here was nowhere to be found. I looked in both directions to try and find the rusty white cycle, but it was nowhere. _Damnit!_ More bellows reached my ears. I had to think fast. The gates around the entrance were still open. Fixing the problem, I grabbed a rung of the gate in each hand and slammed them together, taking a brick to bar the two together. I sped off down the road barefoot, not caring where the bike was. I held the key and map so tightly in my hand, my fingers began to bleed.

I should have known that I had wasted time with the gates. I continue to run as the distinct deafening shriek of bending metal reached my ears, along with another loud roar. Zeus tore through the gates like they were paper. I had a few seconds head start on him, but I wouldn't be able to keep it at this rate. The faint light floating in from camp was dimming as I ran further and further from it. I was nearly a minute down the road when I saw a glint of metal.

I gasped quietly to myself. There it was. Why the fuck was it all the way out here? The bike was on the side of the road with the kickstand still up. I had the keys in hand, but I was afraid Zeus would catch up to me before I mounted it. But stupid Bella did it anyway. I jumped onto the bike, fumbling with the keys in the ignition. I could hear loud bellows coming from behind. I twisted the key and the bike rumbled to life, roaring happily before I kicked it into gear. I twisted the handle a few times, but I heard incoming roars and bellows coming in the direction of Zeus. Finally the bike started up and I zoomed down the road.

The bike was pretty damn fast, I'll give it that much, but Zeus was pretty damn fast times four. I had to push the bike near its limit more than once. The road below me blurred, and soon there was no distinction between the blacktop, the desert and the sky. It was just me, the machine, and the monster. If I tried hard enough, I could faintly remember being in a situation like this before. _Jacob Black and the wolf-splosion. Yeah. _But this monster happened to be much faster, more dangerous, and far more deadly than the little puppy Jakey. I took a peek at the accelerometer_. 125... Not bad, not bad at all._

My tattered shirt flew in the wind, along with my hair. I was just starting to gain speed on Zeus, when something bright, like lightning, hit my bike. The little machine sputtered and the bike lost its momentum. The lights on it shut down, and the lack of speed caused the wheels to wobble. The handles swerved back and forth, causing me to lose my balance. The bike collapsed below me and sent me flying over the road. I landed roughly on my back causing pain to assault my ribs and spine. I heard cracks as I hit the blacktop, notifying me that I had broken something. I heard a loud bellow come from behind me. Zeus was only a few seconds behind. My hand reached for the keys, pulling them out of the ignition and into my pocket.

I tried to support myself with my arms to no avail. The warm trickle of blood crawled down the side of my face and blurred my vision. But I wasn't gonna give up. I army crawled a few inches, trying to push myself forward with the balls of my feet. My nails scratched the pavement, trying to find a hold, but there was none. My heart was pumping at a thousand beats a minute. I never thought that the little red outline on the screen in COD was real, that if you were in enough pain your body gave you a complementary red frame around your eyesight, but it was real. The pain was terrible, but not as bad as the pain of the transformation. _Come on, punk ass, get your butt moving_, I thought to myself. I tried to drag myself along the ground, to maybe gain some distance. But I was lifted by the back of my shirt before I could advance an inch.

I was flung backwards onto the sand. Zeus stood on all fours in the spot where I once was. He slammed his front paws- or hands, rather- onto the ground before roaring fiercely and galloping toward me. He was snapping at thin air, creating loud and frightening noises with his teeth. I was in my element, though. I dove under the sand, its familiar hold wrapping around me. Unfortunately for me, I only went a few feet before a hand plunged into the sand and plucked me out of my sanctuary. Zeus pulled me out with one hand, clawing my back with the other. The blood seeped through my shirt as I released a yelp of pain. He picked me up and made me turn to face him. Two burning yellow eyes stared through my skull. The grey werewolf released a huge roar right in my face, pelting me with the smell of dog breath.

I shook the spit off my face. "Ever heard of toothpaste, dipshit?" _No, no, NO! WHY DO YOU SAY THESE STUPID THINGS?_

The werewolf bellowed louder, and if his eyes got any brighter I would have been staring into headlights. _Ha, ha. Get it? Headlights?_ Bad puns don't relieve stress as well as I thought they would. He extended his arm and held me out by the neck, his other hand going to the side, poised to attack. He was about to swing his arm when he was violently flung backwards. I landed on my feet, turning around. A huge, brown werewolf tackled him to the side. Zeus' green lightning storm was pushed to the side by a lash of blue. The blue concentrated again around the werewolf's neck. David.

The brown werewolf turned around to face me, barking something that sounded a whole lot like "Run". I tried to help, but I knew I would only end up being a liability, so I obeyed, holding my sides and trying to keep my back as straight as possible as I tried to run forward. It caused me extreme pain, but my motivation was the fact that there was a huge, dangerous werewolf the size of three of the wolves that had chased me on that day that changed my life. I advanced slowly, not going past a struggled jog to move. I tried to ignore the loud tears, roars and slams coming in from behind. I kept running, but I looked back a bit to see a large, furry creature being thrown over the shoulder of a larger, furrier monster. My footsteps sent pain through my spine, causing me to nearly fall. I was kept upright by willpower alone.

If I looked far enough, I could see a faint glow on the horizon. The glow morphed into defined lights. I was nearing the city. The closest building was what looked like a bunker, or a storage shed of some sort. It had one large, rectangular building, and was almost completely underground, save for the roof and the window. It was only about a minute away at my pace.

Behind me, I heard a huge howl resonating through the cold desert air. The chill made it easy for me to hear anything because for some reason sound traveled faster in cool environments. _I don't know, Junior year physics or something._ I was still running ahead of Zeus. If I was really lucky, maybe Alexander would find me and he would beat the shit out of Zeus. I don't know... I don't care much either. He probably took me for dead, like what David said before.

The storage shed was only about a hundred feet away. If I ran a little faster, maybe I could make it. I heard loud, galloping footsteps behind me, warning me of my fate. I was almost at the storage shed. My jog was working. Maybe if I just tried a bit harder. I propelled myself faster, trying to ignore the searing pain through my ribs. More blood trickled down from my head. I had to grab my arm to keep the spare bits of flesh attached to it as it very slowly healed itself. I was just reaching the storage house. I could even see the full moon reflected across the window.

My already tattered shirt was torn up even more when claws dug into my back. I screamed in agony, feeling nails raking across my already cut up back. The monster grabbed my shoulder, his nails digging into my scar. I screamed louder. I just wasn't going to bother hiding the extreme pain I was in. I had a broken spine, broken ribs, my arm was in shreds, my head was bleeding, and now a chunk of my shoulder has been torn out. Zeus bellowed again, and flung me to the side. I crashed through the window of the storage shed. But I'm not that lucky, am I? It wasn't a storage shed, it was a bunker. In other words, I had to fall.

The green walls zoomed through my vision. I suddenly landed with a thud and a groan, more pain shooting through my body. If I just had a red frame around my vision before, now I had a river of blood going over my eyes, blinding me. The blood poured down my face, neck and arms. I would have probably looked dead, were it not for the occasional grunt of pain. Above me, the moons rays trickled through the window. I heard a loud howl of victory. I couldn't keep my eyes open, so I closed them. I still felt blood trickling down my eyelids and seeping through my clothing. I let out an occasional whimper of pain. Zeus had found me.

* * *

_When I opened my eyes again, all of my wounds were healed. There was no blood, and instead of a black sweatshirt and canvas pants, I was wearing what I would wear in Forks. Black Vans, a Radiohead shirt and some grey skinny jeans. There was a mirror on the far wall of the bunker. I walked over to examine myself, and had to contain tears of joy. My eyes were brown again, but my skin was pale, sparkled like diamonds, and was ice cold to the touch. I was a vampire. I looked to my right to see a corridor that hadn't been there before. I walked toward it, my steps unnaturally graceful and lithe. I was the epitome of beauty, walking down dark burgundy halls and heading toward who knows what under a huge labyrinth of a bunker. I could faintly hear my name being called from one end of the hall I was walking down._

_I heard something turn around a corner, and turned to see Alice running toward me, the biggest smile on her face ever. Her aura danced happily around her. She ran straight into my arms, grabbing my face and layering my cheek with feather light kisses. The ultraviolet aura held us both in a cocoon, letting me share a private, emotionally intimate moment with Alice. I wrapped my arms around her now same temperature waist, holding her close to me. I inhaled her delicious scent of honeysuckle, rain and the faint smell of pine and smiled. She leaned back and took my face in her hands, pressing the tip of her nose against mine. The Eskimo kiss was broken when she leaned back to get a good look at me._

_"I missed you, Bella," she said, giggling._

_"I missed you too, Ali-cat," I responded, laughing with her._

_"Come," she said. "Follow me, I have somewhere neat to show you." She took my hand in hers and skipped down the dreary halls, taking several turns until we came upon one huge central corridor. At the far end of the hall, there was a pair of double doors with a bright green "EXIT" sign over it. Alice led me down the hall, not stopping for anything. But there were small inscriptions on the wall, small enough to be unreadable to the human eye, but I was a vampire. I read it very clearly. It said, "Final Exit, No Turning Back" and below it, it said something that would have made my heart stop if I had one. "Zeus is coming". I sure as hell knew who Zeus was. I stopped. Alice turned around with a small pout on her face. She was literally glowing, her light illuminating the wall. It sort of looks like she ate fireflies, or maybe she was the sun itself._

_"What's wrong, Bella?" She asked, her eyes laced with worry._

_"This writing...," I touched the inscription on the wall with the tips of my fingers. "It says, 'Zeus is coming'... I know that man, he won't let you live."_

_She smiled again. "But Bella, Zeus can't hurt you, he's nowhere near here."_

_Right on cue, something burst loudly through a pair of double doors. Both of our heads snapped toward the sound, and through the darkness I saw Zeus-wolf and his characteristic green lightning storm surrounding him. There was something different about him, though. He was certainly bigger, and his eyes shone much brighter, but the distinct difference was a collar around his neck, with a huge, intricate golden "V" with red accents as its pendant. I didn't recognize it at first, nor did I care, seeing as how he was running at full speed towards us both._

_The two of us took off at an incredibly fast speed, far beyond human pace, but not fast enough to outrun Zeus. I could still see the exit door a few feet ahead. Alice reached it before I did, roughly opening the door to reveal the beautiful, welcoming glow of sunlight on the other side._

_"Hurry up! He's coming!" She screamed, her eyes pleading at me._

_I tried to move, but my foot was being held down by something. My eyes darted down to see a familiar hand of sand grasping my ankle, not letting me move._ No, no, NO! I was so close! I was finally getting out of here! _"Alice, help!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as more sand came up to pull me down, causing me to fall to my knees._

_"I can't, Bella! Fight it! Fight, Bella!" She pleaded. She was standing at the door, holding it open, letting the warm rays of sunlight grace my skin for a few moments._

_I let out a scream. The sand was pulling me further away from the door. Alice wouldn't budge to help me. I felt a hand reach up to roughly grasp my left wrist and pull it downwards, pulling my hand straight off with the sound of cracking granite. I heard a huge bellow, which caused fear to run through my veins. I tried and tried to fight against the sand, but its hold was unrelenting. I tried to crawl forward slowly, and I freed my arm, but then Zeus pulled me roughly back, letting out a huge roar. Alice screamed behind me, her dry sobs echoing in the dark hallway._

_"Fight, Bella! Get away!" I heard her sob. There were tears streaming down her face now. I squirmed out of Zeus' hold, just enough to land a right hook across his muzzle. For a moment, all holds on me disappeared, but all I needed was a moment. I blurred through the halls, watching Alice beckon me with tears in her eyes, anxious to get me out of here. But still more sand crawled across the wall, trying to cut me off. I wasn't going to let it, though. I sprinted faster, trying to reach Alice before they did. The sand was too fast, and I was cut off by hands pulling me downwards, my torso inches away from the Exit door. Alice was crying now, her sobs reaching my ears, each of them poking holes in my dead heart._

_"No, Bella please!" I looked beyond the sunlight of the doors to see a figure opening the remaining door. Emmett stood at the doorway, tears coming from his eyes as well. Rosalie, David, Emily, and Embry stood with them, pleading with me to fight it. All of them were crying, their sobs each cutting into my heart. I tried harder than I had ever before, struggling against the hands of sand again. I felt my own eyes watering upon seeing the remaining members of my family, but not one of them would move an inch beyond the edge of the door. I felt another pair of hands grab my ankle, and I was roughly pulled back, hitting the side wall. Zeus took hold of my neck and roared in front of me, his eyes burning through my face. I felt the skin begin to peel off of my neck where his hands had been, and he brought up his claws to scratch through my shirt. I screamed in pain, feeling the burning sensation surrounding the claw marks. His collar was shaking back and forth, tearing up my shirt involuntarily. He opened his jaws and brought them down on my head, blocking off my vision. I felt sharp pains and heard the cracking of stone as my head was torn off and tossed to the side._

_But wait. Isn't that just an image on a screen?_

_

* * *

_

My eyes slowly opened. I took deep breaths. I tried to lift myself up, but was met with a protesting pain coming from my spine. I collapsed back on my side with a groan. Back to square one. The blood had stopped streaming. I could see sunlight leaking in through the window above. It was either morning or midday, by the looks of it. I rolled onto my back with a thud. I squinted my eyes, trying to adjust to the glaring sun. I brought my hand up to keep the light out of my eyes. After a while, my eyes adjusted to the light. I looked around to see that I was still in the bunker, still lying in a pool of my own blood, and still had broken bones. My large cuts had healed, though, and Zeus wasn't after me now. _Thank god._

The room around me was green, either from mold or from chipped paint, I don't know. I lifted up my good hand to scratch my eyelids, which accumulated some red flakes of blood. I scraped the dried blood off of my arm and face, but could only get a bit off before my nails were completely red. I rolled onto my side and lifted myself up slowly, trying my best to keep my wounds from reopening. I managed to push myself up on my bum, sitting Indian

It was all just a waking dream. It was all just another dream. Maybe it was because of the food I ate before I slept. _Oh! I have food!_

I reached into my pocket and pulled out some bread and a thin slice of kebab meat. I ate it all hungrily. It was way too salty for my tongue right now, but it was food, so I didn't care. It was delicious, even with the excess salt. Some particles landed on my clothing, but I shook them off. A few landed on my shoulder. I yelped out in pain. My shoulder was still open, cut up and bloody. One or two of my ribs were still broken, but at least my limbs and spine were okay.

I got up and was almost instantly forced to go back down. I supported myself on the wall, an unusual stickiness peeling off the hairs on my arm. But fuck it. I'll take a shower later. My hands travelled along the wall until I hit a corner. The minimal daylight wasn't illuminating this side of the room, but I could faintly see the glimmer of a mirror on the wall.

It was greased up and cracked, dirty with years of being unused. I wiped it off, clearing a section large enough to see my face in.

I still had my bright, yellow eyes. I had developed a slight tan. The scar that ran along my jaw was still there, along with the one on my hand and another on my arm. The wound on my shoulder was gaping open, but had stopped bleeding. It was just a hallucination.

I figure it's best to explore. I headed down the same corridor I went down in my reverie, but it came to a dead stop a few meters in. It was completely buried in sand and rock. _In sand. Sand. Yes! _My heart burst with happiness. Finally something is going right. I nearly sprinted into the sand, meeting a little resistance from the rock but going through all the way nonetheless. I swam through the sand, thinking of the small town nearby. I could probably find Alex near there.

The people flew above me. I was swimming so fast, they looked like blurs, or badly painted figures. I didn't notice that the sand changed to cobblestone until I met it face first.

_Ouch, goddamnit..._ I held my nose as it bled furiously. Why does this always happen to me? There were still some people above me, who couldn't hear my growls of pain. Damnit, I'm such an idiot. I doggy paddled with one hand holding my nose over behind the houses. They were run down, with no windows or appliances, aside from a spare window-AC. Clotheslines were everywhere, layered with things ranging from dirty towels to expensive looking silk. Probably gifts. I peeked my head up through the sand, facing a house with no windows on the back door. Coast is clear. I pushed the rest of my body above the surface, still holding my nose.

I looked down at myself. My shorts were in tatters, and Alex's black sweatshirt had a huge bloodstain on the shoulder. I took off the sweatshirt, only to find that my white shirt was ripped up at the shoulder, baring my open cut for all to see. I sighed and ran my good hand through my hair. _Damnit. What am I supposed to do?_

I looked over at the clothesline. Idea. I took the map and keys out of my shorts and buried the clothing into the sand.

After a moment, I walked to the front of the houses wearing my new clothing. I had a towel below my shirt to stop bleeding, a pair of dark gym shorts, and this black men's t-shirt that had some meaningless numbers on the sleeves. I walked down the sandy path toward the cobblestone. Occasionally some people would stare and murmur, though I had no idea why. I held the map in hand. Where did Alex live?

The map had a perfectly drawn trail leading from the entrance of camp to Alexander's mini apartment. If you went down the road I was on and then took a turn and headed into a wine cellar, then you would have to open a secret door to Alex's house. Perfect. I don't like the good way. I made my way down the streets, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible, which was pretty hard since I was the only one wearing something that wasn't traditional.

The city streets were crowded, but people gave me a wide berth, shushed whispers directed at me. In front of me, there was a police chopper giving a ticket to a man on a motorcycle, probably for speeding. I left those two behind as I took a turn onto the street the map said. However, the chopper sirens started up again. People crowded into alleys and even broke down doors when they saw me. The chopper engines blared louder. I looked behind my shoulder to see the police calling up reinforcements. Run, now.

My walk turned into a sprint as I headed down the wrong alley by accident. I shoved into boxes and dumpsters, trying to make a barricade between me and the chopper. My shoulder and spine didn't like this added movement, though, and sent protesting waves of pain to me. I had to ignore it, because I heard more sirens behind me, or what scared me worse, a few sirens in front of me.

I sprinted faster, finally coming to the end of the alleyway. I risked a glance at my map, which told me if I went right, I might be able to double back and head into the cellar. But there were sirens coming in from that direction. I fought with myself for a moment. _Left, right, left, right..._ A visible police light came on in the direction of the noise. _Left!_

I sprinted down the open streets, watching the people crowd into buildings and shoo into alleys. More sirens sounded in from behind me. I took another glance at my map. Now, I could go onto the rooftops and double back, or I could go into the city square, where there were probably more cops with more weapons and more bikes. _Hmm. Yeah, rooftops win._

I climbed onto a crate that was outside of a low building, which luckily held my weight. I jumped and reached up to grab the gutter, which unfortunately, cut into my palm, but I was on it anyway. I did a pull up onto the rooftop, hearing more police sirens blaring below me. _Weren't expecting that, huh?_

The rooftops were relatively easy to sprint across, but were a bit uncomfortable because they were fucking concrete. I only had a dozen or so to go before I could safely land on the barracks I had put up for the cops before, then make my way down the alley. I was at my fifth one, when I heard a gunshot coming in from below. _They're pulling out the big guns..._

The bullets missed me, except for a few that would go dangerously close to my head. I was scared out of my wits, seeing the squad of police firing at me. Serious déjà vu, wasn't it? Finally I reached the last rooftop. I scaled my way down the side, trying to shimmy to the side to hit the dumpster I was going to land on just right, but I'm not that lucky, am I?

I fell onto the dumpster and hit my recovered arm. I heard a crack, and then mire waves of pain went down to my arm. Nothing is going right today! What the fuck! I rolled onto the cobblestone path and ignored the pain, holding the unusable limb as close as possible to my body as I went down the alley the cellar was supposed to be on. A few doors down was the culprit, however there was a huge padlock on it. _Damnit damnit damnit!_ I tried to pry the padlock off with my bare hands, trying to will the lock into opening with brute strength. I tumbled backwards when my hold broke, and something giggled in my pockets. Wait a second.

I took the bike keys out of my pocket. I hadn't used the second key yet, so what the hell? I fumbled with the keys with my good hand as I heard faint sirens approaching. I turned the key, meeting a bit of resistance but opening the cellar anyway. Yes! I climbed into the cellar and closed the doors behind me, pocketing the padlock for a rainy day.

It was very dark in the cellar, but I could faintly see the glow of burners. I walked forward, but then something tickled my forehead. What the fuck was that? Oh. I grabbed the light switch and turned a light bulb on. When I looked around, I realized just how much shit I had gotten myself into.

"Aw, fuck..." _This is great. Now I'm part of a drug cartel._ There were burning meth and cocaine stoves, filling the air with the rancid stench of drugs. _Fuck._ I tried to find the secret door, but it was nowhere to be found. I searched the place, touching floor tiles and poking walls, even twisting the knobs on burners, but that only ended up turning them off. There was a valve that didn't look like it turned on anything, though. It's always good to try.

I took the knob with one hand and tried to twist it. I only got halfway, though, before a loud, metallic screeching sound came from a vent on the wall. Some artificial light trickled through. _Yes! Finally!_ However, the noise was much too loud. The cops would find me if I kept it up. _Hmm._

_Screw the cops._

I tried again with the valve, putting my shoulder into it so I could turn it fully this time as more noise resonated through the small cellar. More light trickled in through the vent. I could faintly hear sirens outside. _C'mon, just one more..._ I tried my strength once again with the valve. This time, the entire vent let light in. I undid the vent bars, and crawled into the cramped airspace. I reattached the vent behind me and continued toward the light, exiting the lab just as I heard the cellar door burst open.

There was still the clue of light, though, so I pulled up a cover that surrounded the vent. Now it was completely dark, save for a light at the end of the tunnel. I crawled towards it, and furniture at the far end became visible. When I reached the end, I fell onto the hardwood floor, holding my arm in pain as it sent more waves of pain to me. I looked around to see that I was indeed in Alexander's apartment. It had the familiar wooden furniture, even the pots were still on the shelves on the stone wall. But there was one, very important thing missing.

_Where the fuck is Alex when I need him?_ I could faintly hear the sounds of police sirens through the vent.

"Damnit, Alex, where the hell are you?" I said to nothing, wiping the sweat off my face with my good hand. I got up, heading toward the small kitchen to get some water. When I drank, all pain disappeared from my wounds and they nearly instantly healed.

I heard footsteps coming from the small staircase, but instead of Alexander appearing, there was a very sweet looking man of about twenty, with blonde hair and tan skin. He was muscular, like Emmett, but had the same startling yellow eyes that plagued our kind. The man wore a white cut off t-shirt, with khaki shorts and held a towel. His tan skin was glistening with sweat, probably from working out. He sent me a friendly smile and a wave.

"Hello, my name is Xerses-" he started to say, but he cut off when he saw me reaching for a large kitchen knife and getting into an defensive stance. He held his hands up and looked slightly amused. "I'm not here to hurt you," he said.

"I don't care. Last time I met a strange man with a Greek name I nearly died," I growled at him. I still held the knife in my hand, waiting for him to make a move.

"I'm a friend of Alexander's, I'm not here to hurt you... It looks like you've been through much. Alexander will be back in a few hours, but if you wish I will cook for you. I'm not nearly as good as he is, but I've picked up a few things here and there," he said, his hands still up. I lowered the knife and relaxed. Friend of Alex's. Safe for now.

He faced me, and gave me a warm smile. "And also, you should probably take the prison uniform off, it's not exactly subtle..."

* * *

**Nother A/N:** YOOHOO! Bella said no to Zeus! At the price of her sanity, her spine, some broken bones, a permanent scar, and now we get Xerxes! I swear he's a nice guy. He's Alex's friend, remember? Seriously, he's good, I swear. And Bella would totally wear a prison uniform, out of anything on the clothesline...  
Did anyone catch the symbolism in Bella's hallucination? If you want to point it out, go ahead in a review so everyone can read it. If no one gets it right, I'll explain in the next chapter. I took a page from Blackboxtv's Final Exit. Go watch that if you already haven't. If you have, you'll understand the reference better.  
I reuploaded the old chapter, because my beta Ashfisher92 fixed a few problems here and there. Thanks for reading, please review, and I'll see you later.  
Cheers,  
The Lazy Werewolf


	14. Seven

**Title: Cut the Ropes**

**Author:** LazyWerewolf

**Disclaimer: See chap 11**

**A/N:** I'm sorry this chapter was out a bit late, I honestly have no excuse except a whole mess of things happened these past two weeks, and I've been busy. But here it is, at last!

About Bella's relationship status… Honestly, my ideas went from "Start off with Bella and Alice in full on puppy love" to "Bella will have feelings for a bazillion OCs and a Volturi dude" to "Bella will pair up with a few OCs, most of which will be male, and then deal with her feelings for Alice" to "Bella will pair up with one or two OC guys to get her… ahem, experienced, and then finalize her love for Alice". I still want to go forth with the AxB pairing, but there will be a few heterosexual relationships for Bella before she gets to see Alice again. (Some people used to give me massive shit about pairing Bella up with Jacob and not automatically making her gay... Glad that's done)

No one got the symbolism in Bella's dream... I don't blame you though, I thought I wrote it almost a bit too obscure. Bella dies in the last chapter. She dies of blood loss, so the dream is kind of like the crossing into heaven. Bella is exactly what she wants to be (vampire, not werewolf), and her own personal angel (Alice) leads her into heaven (the Exit door, with all her friends and family), thereby killing her. But she's a werewolf, so her condition heals her rather rapidly, preventing her from dying(Zeus and the sand demons, with the Volturi indirectly as well) keeping her from heaven (The monsters killing her and tearing her apart), and thus saving her from dying. So really, Zeus was saving her from death, but death is really the only way she could get everything she wants. Hope that makes more sense now.

Alice doesn't come in till later... But the rest of the vampires are coming very, very soon!

See you at teh bahtom.

* * *

**Seven**

Xerxes shuffled around the kitchen, his massive footsteps making loud thuds. We had sat still for about an hour in silence, waiting for the last of the police to clear out. Xerxes said that they did this whenever they wanted to draw attention to somewhere else; that they would just be moving the "fake" drug lab somewhere else in the city later. Police here were lenient, I figured that much. I sat reclined on a wooden chair, admiring Xerxes from behind. I'm not gonna lie, I've been staring at his butt for the last fifteen minutes or so.

I'm such an ass-man. But this isn't the first time. I admit, I stare at butts as they walk by. Both girls and guys. Grr, I'm such a whore.

Xerxes turned around, blushing slightly and scratching his head when he saw me admiring his backside. I partially blushed, hiding the red with my hand and turning to the side. "You have some tomato sauce on your pants..."

He turned around to look at his bum. "Oh, yeah, I do," It sounded a bit strangled because he almost completely turned around, but he took the material in his hands and wiped it off. He had finished cooking, so he brought over two steaming plates of... I don't know.

He sat down, and I put all legs of the chair on the floor and began eating. "Hey, what is this? It tastes delicious..." I ate more of the odd tasting noodles. He looked up from the pasta, one noodle sticking out of his mouth. I tried to suppress a laugh.

"This," he picked up the remaining noodle with his index finger and slurped it into his mouth, "Is a type of pasta. I believe it is Arabic of origin, but I'm not sure."

I had to laugh a bit at his facial expression. He looked like a duck. The two of us lapsed into a comfortable silence as we continued eating. We both had just finished the food and were sitting there, when he asked me a question. "Tell me... What brings someone like you all the way out here, hiding from Zeus?"

I shuffled uncomfortably in my seat. "How do you know about Zeus?"

"Alexander told me. He talks a whole lot about you... Your past and future especially."

I put my fork down and raised an eyebrow at him. "Really?"

He nodded and made a "hmm" sound. "I can't talk to you about your own future. That would break some... I don't know, time stuff. But, I don't actually know your name... Alexander was very vague in his descriptions."

"Isabella Swan, but I prefer Bella," I said.

His eyes widened. "Italian?"

"Half. What about you?"

"Half English, half German. Glad to see someone else out of place. I think you need some bandages for that shoulder of yours."

My wounds were still gaping open. I nodded at his offer, so he went to a high cabinet and pulled out a roll of gauze. Xerxes tossed both to me, and pointed to a room across the hall. I walked toward it and closed the door behind me.

The bathroom had a dirty mirror and was almost completely made of wood, save for the urinal. "Toilet, toilet, toilet... Hey Xerxes?" I yelled through the door. I heard loud footsteps, then his voice behind the wood.

"Yes?"

"Is there a toilet in here?"

"I'm afraid not, you'll just have to learn, but there's a shower..."

Ugh.

"Thanks anyway," I yelled to him and heard loud thuds fading. I looked at myself in the mirror. My hair was disheveled ridiculously, and my skin had a layer of grime and blood over it. The small shower in the corner, however bare it was, beckoned to me. I stripped naked and got in, taking a bar of soap from the top of the shower door.

"Fuck!" I hopped around in the shower, twitching. _Cold, cold, cold! _"Ow, ow, ow, shit!" I scrambled around in the shower, climbing up a wall and clinging to the doorframe because of the temperature.

There were hurried footsteps and knocks at the door. Xerxes' worried voice resonated from beyond the door. "Bella, are you okay?"

I calmed down a bit before speaking. "Yeah, I'm fine, it's just a bit cold, is all," I sounded out.

"Well, hurry, because it only gets colder. I never got that fixed." He left, going back to his business.

Colder? How much colder before it starts snowing?

I quickly scrubbed the majority of grime and dirt off me, saving my hair for last. After fifteen minutes in freezing cold water, I could almost be remotely presentable. As I stepped out of the death shower, I noticed a slight problem. I have no clothing. I quickly scavenged the dirty underwear, opting to trash the shirt and only use the gym shorts. I dried myself off with a towel, then wrapped the gauze securely around my shoulder and my ribcage. It would be kind of awkward going out topless in front of a guy, though, even with the gauze, so I opened the door and poked my head through the opening.

I looked around for signs of Xerxes, my wet hair blocking my vision. "Hey, Xerxes?"

Pause. "Xerxes?"

More pause. "Xerxeeeees?"

Nothing. It was safe to come out. I went back into the bathroom and grabbed a towel for my hair, trying to dry it off as best I could before draping it over my shoulder. I caught glimpse of myself in the mirror. _Is that a fucking four pack? Damn, Bella._

I exited the bathroom, but there was still no sign of Xerxes. But I still needed a shirt. I'm sure they wouldn't mind if I borrowed one, though, but where could the clothing be?

The hallway had a few doors. Maybe I could find some clothes. I rummaged through the first room, which was just a broom closet. No clothes here. The next room was the laundry room, which was unfortunately empty. The last room on this side was a staircase. Leading to what; I don't know, but it probably wasn't clothing. I closed that door and headed to the fifth door. When I opened it, needless to say I was surprised.

Xerxes was stark naked, facing away from me into a closet. He hadn't heard me open the door. I should probably say some thing... "Do you have any clothing?" _Smooth, Bella._

The blonde man jumped, and reached for a random piece of cloth to cover himself. He was blushing furiously and was staring at the ground. When he saw me without a shirt, he blushed even more, covering himself with the bed sheets on the floor.

"Um, no... I'm actually quite bare, as you can probably see..." When he spoke, he didn't meet my eyes. I remember when I used to be that shy. _But then I grew a pair._

I rolled my eyes at him. "That's not what I meant. Could I borrow a shirt?" I asked.

He reached in the closet, exposing a bit of his bum before he tossed a huge, oversized green shirt at me. "Here, um... There's a TV upstairs..."

I caught it and turned to the door. "It's uh-kay, I'll leave now," I said, walking through the doorframe.

I walked toward the staircase, putting the plain green t-shirt on. Already at the door, I felt something stab my bare foot. "Ouch..." I lifted it up to see a huge splinter. Once I pulled it out with my fingernails, my foot instantly healed. The marvel of werewolf water.

I slowly opened the door, expecting to see more dark wood and unkempt grime. However, instead of dirt and grime it was a homey apartment, with white paint and a stone countertop in the kitchen. It was extremely small, but I said this because I had yet to go through the hallway. I stepped out of the doorway, closing the door behind me. The actual door was hidden by a bookshelf. Highly unoriginal, but it works. I sauntered over to the kitchen. There were a few prepared sandwiches lying around, along with a wrap of whatever. I ate two sandwiches in the blink of an eye. The rest of the apartment was nothing to look at, besides the small, 13 inch square television mounted on the corner of the kitchen countertop, which was spouting news in Arabic. I pulled a chair back and recline on it, leaning back to watch the pretty pictures. A few cartoons passed, and I found myself supporting my chin on the kitchen table, waiting for something to happen. I thought I heard something familiar. Ah, yes. English. Finally, a commercial for Billy Mays. Outdated Oxiclean commercials, in this case only, were the best.

After around three minutes of Billy Mays, more Arabic CNN came on, droning out the sounds of children playing in the street outside. Their joyous peals of laughter did nothing to soothe my nerves. My mind started wandering. I thought about the cold shower, this comfy green shirt, some stuff… _No, no, no! Aw gawd, now I feel like a whore..._I tried to focus on counting the clear white ceiling tiles.

_Forty seven, forty eight, forty nine, fifty, fifty one, fifty two_... Large footsteps came from beyond the bookshelf door. It slowly slid open, revealing Xerxes, who was wearing khaki shorts and a plaid shirt, buttoned all the way to the top.

I frowned. "Don't you know how to wear anything?" I hurried over to him and started fixing his collar as he shut the bookshelf door.

Xerxes looked down at me with wide eyes as I unbuttoned the top buttons of his shirt. "Euh, Bella, I like you and all, but I haven't actually had any experience with this—"

"Done!" I finished unbuttoning the last one. He had these spectacular abs, and was well muscled. His shyness was cute, but come on.

"You sure you haven't gotten any yet?"

He shuffled back, looking down and ruffling his hair. "Any of what?"

I sighed, and shook my head, hiding my eyes with my hand. "How old are you?"

"Twenty-two physically, but around twenty-seven age wise," he said.

I stopped fiddling with my hair as he came and took a seat next to me. "Wait...what?"

He looked confused as he clasped his large hands together on the table. "We're immortal... Don't you know that?"

I nodded slowly. "I thought only vampires were immortal."

"No. The reason is that... Well, think of it like this. We were the first to exist, and we eat meat and drink water, right? If we lived forever, our resources would be gone eventually. That's why nature created vampires, because if werewolves kept wasting resources we would be in eternal drought. Same thing with vampires, if they kept drinking the blood that was supposed to be absorbed into the soil, then there would be a drought as well. So, it's a cycle. They kill us, give back to Mother Earth, we kill them, and give back to Mother Earth. We exist to kill one another," Xerxes said. My heart dropped.

I exist to kill vampires.

I exist to kill Rosalie. I exist to kill Emmett. I exist to kill Jasper.

I exist to kill Alice.

But that can't be right. I love them. They're my family. There was an awkward silence as I sat with a shell shocked expression on my face. After ten minutes of him fidgeting, Xerxes lifted himself from the table, his eye length blonde hair fluttering around him. He looked to the ground, until he took one large hand and used his fingers to lift the table like it was nothing.

I immediately took my legs off of the table. "Woah, Xerxes, buddy, what're you doing?" He looked up at me for a moment, his mouth slightly open, before going back to his business, lifting several chairs, including my own, which sent me tumbling onto him. He grabbed my leg, catching me just as my face was about to hit the ground. Xerxes was holding me on his shoulder. I probably looked like some four year old.

"Hey, hey hey hey HEY! PUT ME DOWN!" I screamed and punched his back.

"Have you seen my—" We were interrupted by an unlocking of a door. Warm breeze hit my leg. Through my peripheral vision, I could see a bush of curly black hair and the makings of a beard on Alexander's tan skin.

"Alex!" I yelled, waving behind Xerxes. "Good to see you!"

Alex walked over, setting down several large plastic bags and a huge brown box. "I hope I'm not interrupting, but in case I am, the hmms are in the back hmm," he said, looking toward the cabinet in the back whenever he hit the "hmms". My face was beginning to turn red from being upside down so long.

Xerxes shook his head, clearing the blonde locks from his vision. "You haven't seen my shoes, have you?"

I shook my head, perching my elbow on his bum and holding my head up. "No, but the hmms are in the back hmm," I said.

Xerxes sighed, before he put me down on a chair. I shook my head, sending my hair flying in all directions. He looked to Alexander, who was rummaging through the brown box.

"Here," Alex tossed me a white scarf, and some brown sandals. He gave me a sort of white robe along with it, along with a leather belt. I held it in my hands, and looked at him questioningly. "Your name is Ari Madwesh, you're going to the market to buy food for your loving fiancé," Alex pushed a few traditional clothes to Xerxes before continuing. "The two of you are getting married in two months. You just moved here from Kuwait, and your skin is pale because of the car ride. They know why your eyes are yellow, and your," he turned and tapped Xerxes' shoulder. "Hair is blonde because you bleached it. The police have nothing on you. Here is your wallet," He handed me a small canvas pocket, which contained a whole lot of money and a fake ID before turning to Xerxes and handing him his own. "And here's yours. Bella, don't say a word, and learn to pronounce your name."

I looked down at the ID to see my picture in it, along with fake information, like where I've lived, address, and age. The name was spelled completely different than what it sounded like. That wasn't confusing. "Ari Madwesh." Airy Madaweshhhh.

"No, Ari Madwesh," he said, pronouncing every syllable perfectly with practiced ease.

"Ari, Madwesh..." Airey Madwiiish...

He sighed. "Just don't speak, alright? Xerxes will take you down into an alley with a door that has a crescent moon on it. There lives a mated pair. Their names are Elizabeth and Rebecca, treat them with respect, for if you disrespect one you disrespect the other, and that won't turn out well. You need to talk to them about finding a home for Bella. Go. I know this will turn out moderately well."

Xerxes started toward the main door, taking my wrist with him. I nearly tripped over a stray power cord as he led me down some steep stairs onto a street, where a motorcycle identical to Mr. Rusty was parked. I slipped the white robe on and tied the leather belt around my waist, pulling the hood over and tying a knot with the strings. I probably looked like something out of the Assassin's Creed. Xerxes donned a black... Thing as well. There was a cheap looking white car next to Mr. Rusty 2 as well. Xerxes pulled a key from who knows where and slipped it into the car. We were off in minutes.

The world zoomed around me past my thick hood. Everything seemed so fucking CANVAS! _CANVAS CANVAS MOTHERFUCKING CANVAS!_ Everything was made of canvas. _Fucking plaid equivalent_. I sighed. The disgusting smell of a certain tan fabric. Ugh. I parted the obnoxious fabric to only reveal my eyes.

A few people were staring at us, but mostly at Xerxes' hair. It was true; he could probably cover it up with a hat, hood, or maybe even a wig if he was feeling dramatic. I sighed into the fabric. When will it all end? I've never actually thought about settling down before, but that seems extremely plausible right now. _Wait. What the fuck? I'm nineteen, for crying out loud!_ Damn you, Daniel.

The car came to a stop, the engine rumbling loudly. The alley itself was dead quiet. A pin could have dropped and it could have been an atomic bomb. The door we parked closest to had a sleek red crescent moon on it. Xerxes exited the car first, before going to open my door. The warm air acted like an aphrodisiac on me, making me slightly drowsy. He held out his hand. "M'lady?"

I'm not even going to answer that.

I took his hand and got out of the car. The door itself was old and rotted, but if you looked at the bottom of the door you could see the beginning of a modern inside to the building. The silence was completely shattered when two loud feminine moans escaped the door. A muffled name came from beyond it. Xerxes and I simultaneously flushed.

"Well, um, we've come at a bad time, um, so, we should go, like now," he stuttered out.

I nodded my head, blushed and walked with Xerxes down the alley. It led down straight to the town center, with the fountain and everything. There were a few people buzzing around, but definitely not as much as before. The fountain was devoid of people, except for the occasional couple wandering through the general area. Xerxes took my hand and led me to the far shadows on a wall, obscuring us from view. His tone was hushed, and he spoke quickly.

"Have you even been freerunning before?" he inquired softly.

Hmm. Well, if you count the rooftop dash, the Alice escape, or the mountain climb circuit, then yes, yes I have been freeruning before.

"No, it sounds fun though," I forced out. _Psh. Fun._

He grinned devilishly, and took me into a doorway. The small room had a spiral staircase that went several floors up. Xerxes ignored it, opting to scale the staircase rails itself like a ladder. I mimicked him.

_Yes! Bella, Queen of the Monkey People! All must bow before me! All hail The Queen of monkey people! I am almighty! Bow before my greatness! I SAID BOW! BOW! __**OW**__, DAMNIT!_

During my scaling effort, my leg slipped through the rung and left me hanging by my fingers on the spiral staircases handhold. Xerxes didn't stop climbing up the wall and staircase, doing amazing flips and jumps even though I was down here, clinging to life by my fingers.

My right pinky slipped, until the entire right hand was off. I was suspended fifty feet above concrete. I shimmied along upwards when I got my hands back up, hoping to find somewhere where I could put my leg over. After several minutes of extreme pain, my feet finally hit a ledge.

_I AM QUEEN OF THE MONKEY PEOPLE ONCE MORE! ALL MONKEY MEN MUST BOW BEFORE ME! BOW! BOW, BAHAHAH- __**OW**__, WHAT THE FUCK NOW?_

I held my aching head. Roofs are so painful. Xerxes lent me a hand, lifting me up through the hole in the roof and letting me out once more into the beautiful sunlight. The air was thick with heat, but I thought it was comfortable. It was very nice out, you know, for Saudi Arabia. Xerxes gave me a look that said "On the count of three". I suddenly realized I had a race to win.

"One..." I put my fingers on the ground.

"Two," he said, staring straight ahead.

"Three!"

Xerxes took off maybe a millisecond before I did, but it was all he needed to jump the first roof before I did. However, I quickly caught up, my light build helping me here. He looked strained as he turned his head to the side, sticking his tongue out at me. I grinned, my cheeks hurting from smiling so much. Honestly, this guy was all sunshine.

The second leap was larger, but still relatively easy. I could see the messy blonde pile of hair in front of me, warning me that I was going to lose at this rate. So what I did to catch up was take a short cut by climbing up the highest building, and then dropping down onto a lower one, and a lower one, and a lower one, saving myself the trouble of jumping. Xerxes was no longer ahead, in fact, he was nowhere in sight. I stopped on a rooftop that had no external windows, wondering what kind of boxy building this was. It was no use to keep on running seeing as Xerxes beat me by a long shot. The sun beat down on my skin, making me feel like a wet towel. There wasn't a cloud for miles. Just sun, sun, sun, and more sun. It was actually nice. I thought I would probably hate it, seeing as I lived in perpetual fog for the beginning of my existence, but it wasn't that bad.

"BOO!"

"FUCK!"

Xerxes appeared suddenly from the side of a building, looking like a giant blonde gorilla as he maneuvered around the buildings and ran straight at me. I crouched down in the stance Daniel taught me a few days back. Come to think of it, all of this shit happened in less than two months. _How fucked up is that?_ As he approached me, I did the flip that Daniel taught me, sending him flying over my body. He landed on his back with a satisfying thud, and a loud "oof".

"What was that for?"

"Like you weren't just trying to jump me!"

I lent him a hand, and tried to lift him up, which really wasn't the best idea in the world, since he pulled me down onto the concrete, which earned him a loud "Oomph". He chuckled, and rolled me over on top of him so I could get a better look. I'll be honest, this dude was pretty hot. And he has a sense of humor.

"Like you weren't just trying to jump me," he mimicked with a stupid look on his face. I pushed his nose down, making his face fall backwards onto the concrete. I rolled off of him. There was a pause for a few minutes as I tried to put words to my madness. How was I supposed to ask if Elizabeth and Rebecca were... you know, done? 'Cause it's pretty rude to just start fucking when you know you have visitors coming, so... Jesus Christ, this is madness.

"This is Sparta..."

Xerxes lifted his head up. "Hmm?"

I shook my head. "Nothing..." _Just do it now before you chicken out._ "Hey, um... do you think they're, um, you know, uh...done?"

His eyes widened. "Euh, well, I would think so, seeing as how it generally takes less time for mated pairs, so, I figure after they went at it for a few hours—" I clamped my hands over my ears and started screaming.

"T-M-I! T-M-I! GOD FUCKING DAMNIT, I DIDN'T NEED TO KNOW THAT!"

He laughed. "Oh, Bella, did Danny never talk to you about the birds and the bees? Well, first, when two werewolves like each other—"

"Okay, haha, you're funny... But seriously... Do you think they're, um," I trailed off, twirling my hair around my fingers.

He lifted himself up on his hands. "Well, yeah, I figure... I know them, they've probably been at it since-"

"LALALALALALA!"

We ended up talking about random things, like sports in America versus sports in Europe, not that I liked either, where we were from, and stupid things like that for a while.

"We have to go, you know."

"Okay, okay, fine, let's go."

Xerxes did the ninja flip thing, you know the one where you put your hands behind your head and push your legs upward to get up, and stuck out a hand for me to take. I ignored it, opting to mimic him. It actually worked out pretty well. He smiled and got in a running stance.

Round two.

"One," I counted.

"Two..."

"Three!"

The two of us were off in a split second, jumping over the first roof simultaneously. I took a shortcut, however, opting to miss the second rooftop in exchange for a food cart. I weightlessly bounced on it. _This is fun._

Pretty soon I ran out of food carts to be on, though, so I managed to catch the end of a gutter in mid flight and monkey climb my way back onto the rooftops. Xerxes was way ahead of me, and when I saw him stop running he turned around and did a little jig, screaming "Yoohoo!"s and taunts. I jogged over to the rooftop he was on.

"I won, fair and square!" He laughed.

"Shut it! Let's go," I couldn't keep the humor out of my voice.

Xerxes led us into a doorway, where another spiral staircase was. We went down until another door came into sight, the light of day shining through. We exited and turned a few alleys until coming to the same door that we saw earlier in the day.

He shuffled awkwardly, putting his hands behind his back and whistling.

I sighed. "Chicken."

"Am not!"

I knocked on the door, waiting for a response. It was silent for a moment, and then a small hole in the door opened up, revealing a pair of yellow eyes. I stood to the side, waiting for Xerxes to take over. Xerxes, however, ducked under the hole and smiled at me devilishly.

"BOO!"

I never thought it was possible for a scream to have a French accent until now.

The hole in the door shut again, and when it opened again it revealed a pair of angry blue eyes glaring at Xerxes.

"What?" the voice from beyond the door was seething.

Xerxes laughed and stared right back. "Alex sent us? Remember? We were supposed to be here half an hour ago, but you two were 'busy'?" He made air quotes with his hands and his eyes were filled with mirth.

The eyes behind the door widened, before the hole shut again. It was quiet once more, until the door opened slightly and Xerxes made his way in. I followed, and was surprised at what was here.

The floor was a bright hardwood, looking much too expensive for an apartment on this side of town. One side of the room was littered with musical artifacts, several different guitars, a bass, violin, and a piano in the corner. The other half of the room included the kitchen, and had yet another spiral staircase leading up to a very bright looking room. But two more interesting things caught my eye.

The first woman was tall, skinny and about as pale as I used to be. Her dark brown hair went down to her shoulders, framing her diamond face. Her eyes were a startling yellow color, just like all werewolves. The second woman couldn't have been over 20. She was short. Like, Alice short. Maybe a bit taller, but still. She reached maybe halfway past her companions elbow. Her messy, chin length light brown hair was in curls, sticking out in every direction. However, she had blue eyes. The taller one's arm hung around the shorter ones shoulders.

"Lizzy!" Xerxes yelled, opening his arms for a hug.

He didn't receive a warm response. "Call me that again and I'll castrate you, Xerxes," the taller one growled.

The short one spoke up and looked at me with curiosity. "Who's your friend?"

I had nearly forgotten how to speak. "Um, hi, Bella," I introduced myself. Very awkwardly, I might add. My wolfiness may have taken away most of my physical awkwardness, but it tripled my social awkwardness.

"Bell-A. I like your name. I'm Rebecca." The short one spoke up.

Miss I'm-about-to-castrate-you-Xerxes still hadn't stopped glaring at him, but Rebecca elbowed her. She broke eye contact with Xerxes, and turned to face me. Her features were softer, but slightly uninterested.

"Elizabeth. Nice to meet you." Her voice had a slight French lilt to it, but not enough to be comical.

Xerxes shuffled over to me, and whispered very loudly, "It's Lizzy, she just doesn't want to admit it," he said.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, and Rebecca looked like she was trying her hardest not to laugh. Rebecca spoke up, gesturing to Xerxes.

"You're not here for a friendly visit, are you?"

Xerxes shook his head. "Alex needs a home for Bella."

The pair stood there, stoic, until Rebecca looked like she was just hit by an idea.

"There's an apartment in Dubai. Easy travel, and Xerxes can go with you. It's new, werewolf free, and perfect for a newbie's such as yourself."

Thanks for crushing my self confidence. I scoffed. "Newbie. I wouldn't want to be experienced in something like this anyway."

Rebecca ignored the comment, but both Elizabeth and Xerxes flinched slightly. _Shit_. I fidgeted around and murmured a quiet "Sorry".

Rebecca disconnected herself from Elizabeth's arm, and ran upstairs for a minute. In a few seconds she came back down with a map, a pair of keys, and a wallet. Rebecca handed them to me, and I stuffed them in the pockets of the robe I was wearing.

I started speaking. "Does Alex do this often?"

"Yes. He relocates newborn refugees, rogues from camp, and even a vampire or two to help them live happily, and peacefully," Elizabeth said, with her pretty French accent. "Some of us don't want to fight a war we never started. It's basically Zeus versus Volterra. Not pretty," she said.

I looked to Xerxes. "Is that all?"

"I was hoping for a visit, seeing as we probably won't be seeing them again, and all."

_"You won't be seeing me again."_

My heart stung with dull pain. I hope he's okay.

"Is it just me or do all werewolves play guitar except me?" I walked over and poked a Stratocaster that was leaning on a desk.

Xerxes shifted his weight onto his other foot. "Well, Alex doesn't really play, but I bet he knows how to, the bastard." Elizabeth and Rebecca chuckled.

Everyone decided the TV on the far wall needed some company, but I backed off when I saw that the news was in Arabic. I need to buy a translator or something. Xerxes picked up a guitar with Elizabeth's permission and started improvising some solos. After a while, Elizabeth said I could get an acoustic and have Xerxes teach me. She sat down and curled her arms around Rebecca's waist, and the smaller girl gave in and rested herself on Elizabeth. They really were a beautiful couple.

Xerxes taught me a few songs, and I caught on easily because I at least had some experience with guitars. Occasionally Elizabeth would plant a kiss on Rebecca's head, whereupon Rebecca would snuggle closer to her. The two were completely smitten with each other, and Rebecca would start talking to us about what it was like in camp, without moving from her place. Somewhere along the line, we ended up talking about what it was like to be a werewolf. Xerxes sugarcoated everything, making it seem great. Elizabeth tried to discourage Rebecca, but I just sat back bewildered.

So this was what Edward felt.

_Such a stupid, stupid girl._

Willingly throwing her humanity away, wanting Elizabeth to change her... Now I understood. I understood why Edward never wanted me to change.

Who would have imagined that he was actually right?

I couldn't imagine condemning my soulmate to a life of pain and misery, if it meant being selfish and keeping them forever...

The room was quiet.

Pretty soon the sounds of guitars and Arabic news reporters entered the room again, and we were all lounging like she never said anything. But I hadn't forgotten. It must be so hard for Elizabeth.

Hell, it must have been hard for Edward too. But he was force feeding me BS about not having a soul.

Time passed, and before we knew it the sun had set and we were all watching an Arabic comedy. Everyone was laughing... Except me. I found myself leaning on Xerxes with his arm wrapped around my shoulder, so it was easier for him to explain the jokes. Some of them were actually pretty funny, but most of them were a play on words, which pretty much made it impossible for me to understand.

Elizabeth pointed out that it was late. It was around eight at night, which really sucked, because we had to be back at around five. Xerxes groaned.

"Ugh, I forgot again! Alex is going to have my head on a platter!" He buried his face in his hands.

"We should go, thank you," I said, taking his hand.

Elizabeth and Rebecca saw us out, but when I looked back to wave I saw two figures... Making out like crazy. Why couldn't they save it for another time?

Xerxes opened the car doors, and we sped off toward Alex's apartment. Several roads passed with little to no traffic, no police and no pedestrians. The town square was empty.

"Xerxes, are you sure there isn't anything going on?" I asked.

"Hmm? No, it's Tuesday, right?"

"No, it's Thursday..."

His eyes widened. _Aw fuck, that can't be good._

Xerxes swerved into an alley and immediately parked the car. "Go, go, go!"

I followed him as he ran straight down the alley and came upon the door to Alex's apartment. He fumbled with the keys, shaking violently. The door opened from the inside, though, revealing a very, very annoyed Alex.

"You idiot!"

Xerxes shoved Alex back into the apartment, but Alex didn't flinch and continued to hold the door open.

"I didn't do anything," Alex drawled out, pretending like it was nobody's business.

"Yes you did, you could have gotten us killed! The police have permission to shoot anyone out past curfew, and you didn't even tell me it was Thursday!"

Shoot anyone? That's my kind of luck.

"Yes I did, I said it was Thursday, and besides, if you had come any earlier you would have been shot anyway," he said.

Xerxes took a deep breath, leaning against the door and falling to the floor. I leaned against the countertop, hungry as fuck.

"Hey Alex, what's for-" I was cut off by a loud, metallic screeching coming from the bookcase door. Everyone went still for a second, before we all entered the bookcase door, closing it behind us. I was the first to go down, so I flicked on the lights.

A figure covered in mud was leaning against the vent I entered through, holding it open for another. However, this wasn't just a random stranger crawling in through the vent. Emily spat out mud as she fell on the floor, trying to wipe the mud off her face as best she could. She looked up, and her eyes widened when she saw me. She offered a weak smile.

"Hi Bella," she called out.

I nearly sprinted over to her, kneeling down beside her and wiping her face of the mud plastered on it. "Emi, what the heck are you doing here?"

She coughed up a bit more mud, so I pulled her onto my lap. "I followed Derek."

That name sparked rage inside me. I looked over to the muddy figure by the wall. The man had collapsed, his head against the floor. "Why?"

She snuggled against me and closed her eyes. "Cause I knew where he was going."

"How?" _Was I really that obvious?_

"Most everyone that leaves goes to Alex."

"It's true," Alexander's voice spoke up from behind me. I looked to see him sitting down on the floor, his legs crossed as he waited for Xerxes to examine Derek.

"Some heavy fractures, sprained ankle and a shitload of lacerations, but nothing a couple gallons of water can't fix," Xerxes said, examining a deep wound on his shoulder.

I looked back to the girl in my lap. "Emi, are you okay?" I shifted her slightly so I could get a better look, but she stiffened and held back a whimper. "Oh, God..." The girl had a bloody mess on the back of her shirt, and had deep wounds on her back. "Oh my God... Alex, get water, now," I sounded out. It broke my heart to see Emily in so much pain.

"Guess what, Bella?" she mumbled out from her spot in my arms. Alex tossed me a bottle of water, which I hastily opened.

"Drink," I told her. She downed the whole bottle of water, and after a moment all that was left of her wounds were red marks. I sighed.

"I finally turned! It was fun," she sounded so happy. I flinched.

"Fun?" Xerxes and I both simultaneously asked.

"Yeah, it didn't hurt much, and it was fun being tall." Leave it to her to find the most painful experience of her life fun. She tried to move her hands, but couldn't because there was so much mud caked on.

"You need a shower. Why are you so muddy?"

"Cause we took the short cut," she said. _Short cut?_ "We went down the river, where the sewer to here was, look, I even brought food and clothing, in case you needed it," she said, gesturing to a bag that was tied to Derek's belt. _Short cut. I'm retarded._

"I can't believe that after all you've been through you still thought of me," I said, moving her so I could give her a hug.

"It was David's idea..." she trailed off, and her smile dropped.

"Is he okay?"

Her eyes started tearing up. She let out a soft sob. "Tent number seven..." She mumbled into my shoulder. Tears seeped in through my shirt, and I held her tighter. She shook slightly, her head resting on my shoulder. I started to tear up, too.

Zeus.

I'm going to kill him.

* * *

**A/N: **Bella will get her revenge! Eventually! More travel time for Bella. So, from Cali to London to Saudi Arabia to Dubai… fun. I have to update now, so sorry for any problems with the grammar, I'll try my best to get them fixed ASAP…

I made a tumblr for you guys! Cause I didn't update last week, so… yeah :D Don't eat meh…

Here it is: lazywerewolf dot tumblr dot com … except use these little bastards. I may or may not just do a whole update blog thing on CTR, maybe… I dunno.

Cheers,

Lazywerewolf


	15. Backdrifts

**Title: Cut the Ropes**

**Author:** LazyWerewolf

**Disclaimer: See chapter 11**

**A/N:** arrrrgh. I said to myself, "You lazy piece of shit, get writing," but I had so much work and a mess of tests, papers, and the like (all of which I failed, btw) so I procrastinated on this... My bad. Forgive me?

Emily is like my little writers block eraser, though, so it's a bit easier :PIn case you miss it, it's been two weeks or so since Emily and Derek's arrival... I gave Emily a pairing XD it's the cutest pairing ever, but it doesn't come in until waaaaay later... You'll be like "I DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING"

I've been so frustrated at myself for the lack of Bellice in this fic so far. I've written dozens of kissing scenes, hugging scenes, awkward scenes... That's at least five chapters done in advance. All I have to do is get to the point that I can actually use them -.-" oh well.

_Ps: HOLY SHITTTTT its been forever since I tried to update... Its impossible -.- i finished two weeks ago, and ever since then i've been trying, but getting the same error report. A HUGE THANKS TO CECEASH for helping me get past it... Sorry for the lateness..._

See u at teh baddom.

* * *

**Backdrifts**

The little tan man with the red vest leaps... And falls to his death on Level 1.

"God damnit, you rigged it," I growled, tossing the old controller at Xerxes. His sunny aura glowed happily around him, turning and twisting at having frustrated me yet another time.

"No, actually, you just suck at this." Xerxes maneuvered the little prince on the screen expertly around the obstacles, even going so far as to walk directly through the spikes that killed my character. Several times, I might add.

"Shut up. At least I play real videogames, like Call of Duty and Halo," I spat out.

He laughed. "Real video games? Those are just 3D versions of the originals. You wouldn't have TRON, Prince of Persia, Assassin's Creed, or Mario Kart if it weren't for the originals," he said. But his smug smile was wiped away when the Prince of Persia fell twenty stories onto a skeleton. I smirked.

Suddenly, I heard a high pitched, extremely loud shriek came from behind the bathroom door. Everyone stopped what they were doing, but then continued when yet another shriek came. Derek put his bookmark down in his book and looked up from the kitchen chair, where he was expertly balancing on two legs while simultaneously drinking a cup of coffee. The odd thing was, the ring of aura he had didn't follow him. It remained on the floor, like a shadow.

"She has been here for two week, and she still does not know that Xerxes has yet to fix the shower," Derek said, with a slight accent. Xerxes stuck out a hand to push Derek over, but Derek, with his mad ninja skills, tipped over his cup of coffee, scalding Xerxes' hand just as his little prince ran straight into an opponent's blade.

"Ouch, what the hell was that for!" Xerxes screamed at Derek, holding his burnt hand. He looked at me with a puppy dog pout. Aw. "Pleeeease, Bella?"

I sighed, but handed him the bottle of water I was drinking. He drank it quickly, giving me a toothy grin. "Thank you Bella," he said in a childish tone.

I rolled my eyes. Some yelling found its way past the bathroom door.

"Xerxes, you idiot, do you think this is funny! WHEN I GET OUT THERE, I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" Emily yelled from inside the shower. The cry fell on deaf ears, however, because Xerxes was too busy trying to get his character to kill the Sultan.

Meanwhile, I twiddled my thumbs while Derek dumped a copy of George Orwell's 1984 that he lent me on the table. "If you dog ear one of my books again, I will cut your hands off," he said, staring straight at me.

I wrung my wrists with my hands. "I believe you; maybe I'll just go buy some later or something."

Suddenly a door from down the hallway slammed shut and small, angry footsteps were heard. Xerxes was still too busy mashing buttons to pay any attention. When Emily turned the corner, wearing nothing but a white towel, Xerxes turned his head away from the screen for a split second, giving the Sultan enough time to deal the final blow to the prince.

Xerxes dropped the controller, holding his hands up in a gesture of peace. "Look, Emily, the water guy isn't cooperati—" his words were cut off by Emily's fist colliding with his face.

Damn.

"Good one," Derek, Alex and I chorused. Emily walked away with a smug smile, an enraged Xerxes holding his face. He chugged more water from my water bottle, but it still didn't fully heal the black eye.

"Nice shiner you got there," I said, almost laughing. He ruffled his hair.

"Yeah, I got it at a gang fight."

Alex emerged from the hallway, holding an abnormally large sandwich. Everyone in the room stared at it, seeing as the wrapper around it read "SUBWAY" in their respective green and yellow print. Xerxes dropped the controller, Derek spilt his coffee, and I dropped the water bottle. Alex stopped mid bite to look at us like we were crazy. His aura of strange orange swirls looked like a mouth, circling around said sandwich. I managed to close my gaping mouth to form a few rushed words.

"Where the hell did you get that?"

He offered no response, but instead finished the bite.

Xerxes' eyes scrunched up. "Why you... That's why he never eats dinner here! You bastard! Who gave that to you?"

Alex had already taken another bite of the sandwich by the time Xerxes stopped fuming. I squinted my eyes at him.

"Who?"

Alex sucked on his fingers individually. "Maybe Elizabeth, maybe Rebecca, maybe an invisible pink unicorn, the world will never know..."

Derek got up from his chair and grabbed Alex's collar, shaking him furiously. "Who?"

"Present! From Elizabeth and Rebecca, who, by the way, are coming over and probably wouldn't want to see me in pieces on the floor," he said, putting his hands up.

"Well, guess what? You're sharing," Xerxes grabbed the sandwich out of Alex's hand, dividing it into three pieces. I split my part in half to give some to Emily. Speaking of which, said Emily ran a beeline toward Xerxes. She was now clad in one of my blue t-shirts and a pair of black SOFFEs that were a present from Rebecca.

Xerxes was literally drooling over the sandwich. He looked like a golden retriever. But just as he was about to take a bite of the sandwich, Emily popped out of nowhere and took the sandwich right out of his hands, eating it in an instant. Xerxes was shell shocked, staring at the air in front of him as if the sandwich suddenly disappeared. He squinted his eyes and turned to Emily slowly, a devilish smile creeping onto his face slowly. I know where this is going.

"Hey Bella?" he asked innocently.

"Yes, Xerxes?" I responded, with a smile of my own.

"Let's play fence."

'Fence' was a game we invented to torment Emily. Because she weighed like, what, forty pounds, we slung her around and basically played catch with her. Well, with her as the object of throwing/catching. Tables, chairs, sofas, or anything that could possibly be used as a net served as the 'fence', an object for Emily to be thrown over. If she touched the 'fence' or ran away, the person who threw her had to do the other's laundry. I had done my fair share of dirty boxers, but Xerxes had done more than enough dirty bras. Emily hated this game with a passion.

Emily's eyes widened for a split second before she turned around and sprinted toward an exit. But she was also a split second too late, and Xerxes had just enough time to scoop her up into his arms, slinging her over his shoulder. She started screaming, kicking and flailing her arms, trying to get Xerxes to let go. He ran toward the empty storage room, where games of 'fence' were frequently played.

This room was once the cocaine lab, but Alex remodeled it easily, getting the cops off his tail too. It was a wide storage room with burgundy walls and a concrete floor, with a few duffel bags on some steel shelves in the corner. There were a few dozen cases of water, totaling up to several hundred water bottles. In case anything were to happen, I suppose.

Xerxes pushed a huge box to the middle of the room for the fence, and then crouched down to send Emily flying toward me. I caught her with one arm.

"PUT ME DOWN!" Emily screamed.

I sent her hurtling toward Xerxes, who grabbed her by the shirt and spun around, sending her flying toward me. I did the same, not wasting any time.

A door opening could be heard from across the hallway. Footsteps came in our direction, and just as Xerxes was about to throw a wailing Emily across the 'fence', Elizabeth lunged forward and snatched her out of the air.

Elizabeth cradled Emily in her arms. "_Merde_! You irresponsible idiots! How could you do this to her! She's a child, not a toy!" She said, her French coming out in full force. Emily clung to her, not letting go as she reprimanded us. "You should be ashamed of yourself! You two are more children than she is!"

Xerxes spoke up. "She stole my sandwich!"

Some heavy footsteps alerted me that a man was approaching. "_Your_ sandwich? I beg to differ," Alex said, entering the room.

A few more footsteps followed, this time quicker and lighter. Rebecca peeked her head around the corner and saw that we were playing 'fence'. "Can I play?"

Elizabeth glared at her, holding Emily closer. She turned to Emily, placing a kiss on her cheek before setting her down. "Pardon, _ma belle_, but I believe Xerxes could benefit of a beating," she growled to Xerxes.

Xerxes blanched, before he sprinted toward the window on the right, squeezing through and escaping to the other side. Elizabeth relaxed. Rebecca was laughing her face off. Emily, however, turned her back to me and crossed her arms over her chest. This always happens.

I poked her on the shoulder. "Emi," I pleaded.

"Don't talk to me."

I poked her again. "Emi, pwease?"

"No."

"Aw, c'mon, I didn't even start it. Xerxes did it," I said, holding my arms open. She turned her head toward me, before cracking a smile and flinging herself at me.

"Okay, I forgive you," she said, cuddling into my shoulder. Rebecca "aww"-ed and Elizabeth rolled her eyes.

"Nobody in this house can hold a grudge for more than thirty seconds," she complained out loud.

I picked Emily up, carrying her to her room down the hallway. It was a small square room with a few decorations here and there, but not what you'd expect. There was a dream catcher, a stuffed wolf, and a Linkin Park poster that had a Metallica bumper sticker pasted on it. I tried to drop her down on her bed, but she held tight to me. I had to rip her hands from my shirt for her to let go. She finally did, plopping down on the bed.

I pointed to the blue shirt she was wearing. "Gimme my shirt back."

She clung to it. "You borrow Xerxes' clothes all the time!"

"Yeah, because I run out of clothes frequently! Last time I checked, you had a full wardrobe," I said.

"But I don't like my clothes!"

I walked over to her full closet. I would have worn these if they were my size. Just a bunch of different color t-shirts. One looked suspiciously similar to the one she was wearing now.

"This is the same size shirt! And the same color too! What the hell Emily? These are all my clothes!" I flipped through the closet, examining shirts that were mine. This green one was mine, the black one was mine, the red one was mine, this blue one was mine...I even found my grey tank top.

"But I like your clothes better than mine..."

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. "We'll just share, alright?"

"Yay!" Emily ran over and hug-tackled me. I had to take her up in my arms and carry her back to the living room, where everyone was minding their own business. Xerxes was still glued to the TV, mashing buttons on the console. His healed black eye came back full force, probably post-Elizabeth. Alex, Derek, and Elizabeth were playing cards. I would have assumed that Rebecca was also playing cards, but she was just resting her head on Elizabeth's shoulder. Actually, she was helping the boys cheat by mouthing the names of the cards to them. She mouthed 'King of Spades' before turning to Emily and I to say hello.

My monkey and I sat down on the couch next to Xerxes. He was still mashing buttons on the retro Prince of Persia game. He was sitting on the far end of the couch, eyes glued to the screen, which means he didn't mind much when I leaned back on him because my back hurt. Emily weighed nothing, but having her perched on my back all the time hurt. She settled herself down, cuddling into my chest. I wrapped my arms around her, and leant back a little more on Xerxes. The man didn't move an inch.

After a while, I found myself talking mindlessly to Xerxes while Emily braided the ends of my hair. Xerxes would ask about Phoenix, Forks, London, or the vampires, and I would ask him about Germany. Did you know he was a soldier? He had bullet wounds all over his arms. Emily would pipe up about London (did you know she was English?) and talk about the places and people she met there. One thing that caught my attention was that she mentioned a blonde haired vampire wandering the streets late at night in London, back a few years ago. She knew he was a vampire, but he didn't quite know what she was. They had communicated frequently, but then he disappeared. Said something about a lady waiting for him. He was a gentleman that had a small Southern accent.

_Hm. Jasper._

_Maybe I can find him._

A couple of hours later, Elizabeth had finally lost the majority of her money to Derek and Alex, who split it with Rebecca behind Elizabeth's back. Emily was dozed off in my arms, and I had settled into Xerxes, who was still mashing buttons on a console.

Alex sat down on the chair to the side, contemplating. He had this strange look on his face, like he was trying to make a plan of action. After a couple of minutes of him sitting like the Thinker, his eyes widened.

Not good.

He relaxed again, though, and sat there for a few more moments contemplating our fate.

"Alex?" I let myself say.

"Yes?"

"What's up?"

He stiffened for a quarter of a second. "...You need to pack."

_No._

_Fucking._

_Way._

"Pack?"

He stood up, directing everyone's attention to him. "...Zeus is looking for Bella."

_Shit._

Everyone in the room blanched slightly, the hairs on the back of our necks rising. That name. Zeus. My torturer. My executioner.

_Fuck._

_Wait a second._

I looked around the room. Derek was shuffling cards. Rebecca was clinging to Elizabeth, hiding her face in Elizabeth's hair while the taller woman wrapped her arms protectively around her. Alex stood there with no expression, probably finding a way to get everyone out safely. Xerxes was mortified, holding me tightly against his chest. Emily cuddled further into me, her hands clenching around the neck of my t-shirt.

_All of them could die because of me._

I gently scooted Emily onto Xerxes and stood up.

"So, how are we gonna do this? Should I just go?"

Everyone in the room started blurting out protests and squeals, particularly Emily and Xerxes.

"You don't have to do this alone!"

I flinched slightly. _Alone. Again._

"We can go with you!"

_No._

"No."

They all stood still for a moment before Emily started tearing up. Alex spoke.

Rebecca took her head out of Elizabeth's hair. "Do you have the apartment keys?"

"Yeah. I could get the bike and just drive. You guys could split up so nothing happens."

Alexander spoke. "Xerxes could go with Emily and Derek to one of my old apartments, and I'll go with Elizabeth and Rebecca to theirs. Then, one of us makes a false trail heading upwards to Jordan. You go to the apartment."

"She's not going by herself!" Emily screamed.

"The decision has been made. She's going."

All of them looked at me, and continued to stare at me even as I left the room. Xerxes gently displaced Emily, and then roughly got up.

"You can't go."

I turned to face him. "Yes, I can."

He grabbed my wrist lightly. "No, you can't. Not without us, please," he pleaded.

It was heart wrenching, that was for sure. If I looked to the right, I could see Emily's eyes tearing up.

A huge thump came from the front door. The thudding became louder, until the door was shaking. Loud yells came from outside, along with several shadows. The world stood still for a split second, until Emily got up and opened the bookcase door, gesturing for everyone to go down. Everyone who had gold eyes fled quickly down the stairwell, with exception of Rebecca. Elizabeth looked to her lover for a split second, then disappeared down the stairs as well. I closed the door behind me.

There was an uncomfortable quiet and claustrophobia in being trapped underground with eight other people. I was pressed in between Elizabeth and Derek as all of us moved down the stairwell. I don't know how Elizabeth got behind me in the small space, but she was shoving against me, trying to urge the line forward. Derek shifted, sending me in front of him. At least someone's courteous.

Once we were all to the main floor, I immediately fled to my room to pack some belongings. Emily squeezed in just before I slammed the door shut.

I hastily grabbed the essentials: My iPod, my phone that now had everyone's number, a bottle of water, the keys to the apartment, the map with detailed instructions on how to get to the apartment, and my necklace. The necklace was a small pouch of sand. Alex had taught us to always keep sand around us, even in small quantities, because any and all amounts of it could help us. I tried to fasten it around my neck, but my hands were shaking too much from excitement. A pair of small hands took the ends from me and quickly tied them together. Small arms wrapped around my neck and hugged me closely.

"Emi, you can't come with me," I said. She held on tighter.

"Bella, please, it'll just be me! I promise I won't bring anyone, and with that thing you can do with sand and we could both hide in that apartment with the things and Dubai is a big city and-" I cut her off, holding my hand up in a gesture to stop.

"Stop for one minute and think," I said. She froze, listening to me. "If any one of you comes with me, then they could follow the trail. It's much more probable that I'm travelling with someone rather than travelling alone. It's been two weeks, and once everything simmers down for a while, you could come visit. Give it a week, maybe a month at the most. We'll see each other again."

Emily still held on to me, quietly sniffling. The door from upstairs thudded even more violently. It sounded as though any minute now they would break down the door. Shelooked to me, her eyes wide with fear.

I whispered so no one could hear us. "Xerxes and Alex are in the room across from here. Go," I said. She reached into her pocket and grabbed a pair of motorcycle keys.

"The bike is across the street. Don't get hurt."

There was a parting hug, her aura quietly settling into me, before the door shut behind her softly and I could hear her running off to find someone.

_Do or die. Alright._

The door was too obvious; someone would hear me all the way from upstairs. The drain pipe I crawled through the first day I got here was loud, and would lead me to the other side of the building and nowhere near the bike. The small window in the corner, however, appealed to me.

I bounced on top of my cot thing, which was directly below said window to look outside. A few feet away was Mr. Rusty, in all of his now repaired glory. I fumbled with the window clasp, finally managing to open the small rectangular window. I grabbed my bag, throwing it out the window first. Next, I swung my legs onto the windowsill and launched myself out.

The bright light burned my eyes. Midday had turned into afternoon, so the light was shining in one direction. I grabbed Mr. Rusty's key out of my pocket and pushed them into the ignition. It started up with a loud roar, and I kicked it to go forward.

The wind swept through my hair, going me a feeling of liberation as I rode the bike down the small street. I put new rubber on the handles so my hands wouldn't get chopped up, and the new seat felt much better than the old one. I'm pretty sure someone had stuffed some dead thing into it. The fixed bike rode like a charm.

This back alley was relatively quiet, with no one within it. The door was on the other side of the building, but I could see the lights of a police car. I turned down another alley before racing down to find a traffic jam in front of a red light.

I took advantage of a red light to look at my map. _If I keep heading in this direction, then I would get to the bridge, and then I would take a few turns onto the highway, and probably a couple of hours later, badda bing badda boom, Dubai. Rest stop, then I am on the way to a cozy apartment in Dubai's capital. Fun._

I revved the bike past some weary pedestrians and to a busy road. People were screaming and probably cursing as well, all trying to fit down one path. The sun beat down on my shirt and skin, making everything feel heavier. I need a pool. A huge, gigantic pool.

Wait.

...

Maybe if I found an exit, I could get out and...You know, sand teleport or whatever?

The line was long. Very long. Extremely. Fucking. Long. People just wouldn't shut up. A string of curses directed at me was the first thing I heard. The next thing I heard was a bottle hitting my bike, denting it. I screamed, but didn't want to form any words. Not like they would understand, anyway. After a while, I finally got to the outskirts, where even less people lived. But somehow, there were still angry people screaming.

With a quick turn, I maneuvered the bike off of the set road. More pedestrians shook their fists at me and started screaming even more. The dust kicked up by the bike as I sped down the sand was billowing up in a cloud around me. In a few seconds, the sand was so thick I couldn't see past it. I immediately dismounted the bike and sunk my lower half into the sand.

Home.

I grabbed a spoke on the wheel and pulled down, trying to force the bike under the sand. It protested, sinking only slightly. Instead, I turned the bike over on its side and yanked downwards, and the bike slowly tipped into the sand.

A good five minutes of wrestling with the bike like you would wrestle with a swim noodle to get it underwater, it was completely under the surface. I wondered if maybe the sand would clog up the engine, but really, I had no time to worry about that.

_Is this why everything seems to weigh more underwater?_

As soon as the whole bike was under the level of sand, I immediately sunk under with it. I tried to lift it up, but it would only just budge. Swimming would just have to do.

And, yes, around fifteen minutes of dragging a two hundred pound bike under sand while simultaneously reading a map and swimming, and I was completely worn out. At least I had gotten somewhere, right?

I poked my head over the surface. It was an extremely small, one lane dirt road heading off into the horizon. I pushed myself upwards, dragging the bike with me. As soon as the tip of the handle broke the surface, the bike returned to its normal weight.

Physics sucks. Mr. Banner can kiss my ass.

I'm sure that didn't happen in most instances, but I didn't want to worry about that now. My legs carried my momentum over the surface, where I could drag the bike out. It was minimally damaged, save for the seat and handles being smothered in sand. Good enough.

Mr. Rusty was now up, being inspected for faults. The engine revved happily, and the only real problem was the extremely unattractive paint job. I mounted it, kicking my legs up when the bike began to soar.

It's a liberating feeling. Imagine flying, but with less work. The sun hung low in the sky, heating up my back. The road below me was flying by, looking like a tan blur. If you looked closely at the flat horizon, you could see the edges of the sky turning to the deep black of night.

I flicked the buttons on the dashboard, hoping to find a radio. A few buttons flicked on the night lights, a few put the turning signals on, but one finally turned on a radio. Immediately, a voice started babbling in Arabic, probably attempting to rap or something. I flicked a few more buttons, but no matter how catchy the beat was, it was always in Arabic. However, the last button yielded some results. It was a few set tracks, the first of which I instantly recognized. U2's Spanish Eyes boomed through the speakers, setting a nice beat that changed the way I rode the bike. It was hard not to want to sway to the music.

I looked around, suddenly feeling self conscious of the noise. And then I felt stupid, because I was alone in the middle of the desert. I turned the volume knob to its highest, letting the male voice echo throughout the desert air. I screamed along with it, trying my best to mimic the lyrics I didn't know.

_"Way hay hay! Baby hang on!_

_Way hay hay! Here she comes!_

_Way hay hay! The night is young,_

_Cause I love the way you talk to me!_

_Cause I love the way you walk me!_

_Cause I need your grace,_

_In your Spanish eyes, Spanish eyes!"_

The song ended just as I took my first right turn. It immediately followed up with a song called "In God's Country". I sand along to the chorus, but I didn't know the verses.

_"Sleep comes like a drug,_

_In God's Country,_

_Sad eyes, crooked crosses,_

_In God's Country,_

_Set me alight_

_We'll punch a hole right through the night,_

_Every day the dreamers die,_

_See what's on the other side,_

_Sleep comes like a drug,_

_In God's Country,_

_Sad eyes, crooked crosses,_

_In God's Country..."_

The track list continued on, spouting U2 songs one after the other. I sang along to most, smiling as the bike swerved from side to side in time to the beat. It was fun.

Time passed quickly, the songs getting slower and slower, my thought process getting slower and slower, until I finally realized that the tracks changed artists. It went from U2 to this new band I hadn't heard of called "Iron & Wine". It was a creative name, I'll give them that.

_"... Have I, found you,_

_Flightless bird,_

_Jealous,_

_We belong,_

_Lost you,_

_American mouth,_

_Big pill looming..."_

The male singer's voice was an aphrodisiac. I felt myself becoming drowsy, a familiar weight settling itself over my eyelids. I was just starting to doze off when a jarring noise jerked me awake.

I looked up to see that I had reached... Nowhere. There was nothing. Just me, Mr. Rusty, and the road. It was late. Very late. And I was tired. Very tired.

The moon shone brightly over the desert sand. Stars lit up the night sky, creating a blanket of light over the darkness. Several ridges and plateaus were ahead, but the road cut into the rock face. There were no hotels, motels, rest stops or gas stations to be seen. But I was fucking tired.

_Keep driving?_

_Eh, no. Too long._

_Sleep here?_

_Fucking freezing._

_..._

_Sand nap?_

I dismounted, walking the bike along for a bit. There came a small patch on the road that looked less steep than the others, so I rolled the bike down. The sand greedily swallowed the wheels of the bike once I set it down.

Seeing no other way, I pulled it down only slightly into the sand. I then kicked sand onto it, making it look like a worn down, dead bike. Mr. Rusty looked rustler than ever.

The world was blue around me as I sat down, lowering myself into the sand. It swirled around me, honestly making it feel like home. I looked around one last time before ducking my head under. There were no demons or anything, so I just positioned myself horizontally to sleep.

Maybe I could stop running for a few hours.

* * *

**A/N:** CHRIST I AM SO SORRY. this chapter came out waaaaaay too late. And i sort of had to force an idea out, which, when you think about it, didn't help much. I promise I will try really hard to get a new chapter out sooner.

(This is mean Lazy telling you to review, so I get inspired to update sooner.)

Sorry for the bad grammar, again. I'll get it to my beta Asap. I am just ashamed... But really, I had a mess of things going on. Funerals, inconsiderate professors, the works. And on top of that, I got a puppy :) there's always a silver lining in dark times :D

I don't think anyone actually reads the a/ns. But I'm really thinking of getting Bella a puppy. Review, and tell me what breed, if Bella gets one at all, it should be. For now the default is a German Shepherd.

Soo...

Don't be mad? (Be mad. I deserve it.)

Cheers,

The Lazy Werewolf


	16. The Illusionist's Message

**Title: Cut the Ropes**

**Author:** LazyWerewolf

**Disclaimer: see chapter 11**

**A/N:** Been a while, hasn't it? Sorry for the long waits. I'll try to update sooner. If you catch the really small hint, you might find out where our vampire friend got her tip.

And also... This was very boring for me to write. I got the most amazing idea ever, but I won't be able to apply it until I... Don't want to spoil anything. But, anyways, you know that feeling that you got when you found Hollowgo's Blood Solstice? Yeah. I got something that can top that. I found a 101 chapter Fleurmione fic. I am so proud of myself. Check my favorites if you're interested, beautiful fic. I also found a 48 chap Nina/Lily fic, for you Black Swan lovers. Beat that.

Side note: No, Emily and Bella will not be getting together. Emily is fourteen. Bella is nineteen. Technically, if anything did happen, it would be illegal and also pointless to the plot. But I'm not one for technicalities. It would still mess with the plot though, so...

One very last thing: I really feel like a bitch for saying this, but… I saw it being pointed out on another fic and I couldn't help but agree. Anyone who's an author can probably say they love reviews, that it means a reader cared enough to put some input, good or bad, into your story. I have 70 of you on alerts (after I put this out it might be less) so that's 70 reviews that could have been added to help get attention to CTR. Because, tell me, would you rather read a fic with 20 or 200 reviews? Even if those 70 people don't care enough to review, there's 40 of you guys who put me on favorites ( ). Those people probably care. But last chap I only got 4 out of the 40 reviewers possible… Any author could say that would probably depress them. It just gets me kind of down, like maybe you guys are reading this like its your job… I do that sometimes, and then I regret reading in the first place. Just something I wanted to get out there…

See you at ze buttum.

* * *

**The Illusionist's Message**

Damnit.

_Damnit._

_God._

_Fucking._

_Damnit._

_No water._

_No food._

_No anywhere._

Why I chose to stop in the middle of the desert, I will never know.

There was sun. A lot of sun. And sand. A whole lot of sand. And the occasional mountain ridge from very, very far away. The sun was right smack in the middle of the fucking sky. It reminded me of this one annoying guy, named... Mitch Funion, or whatever, who would always huff at me whenever he talked, so I got a huge whiff of his dog breath. He thought it was sexy. Just like the sun, which was basically breathing shit onto me.

There was nothing. I've been listening to an AM Arabic rapper for the past twenty minutes, waiting for some sort of building or some small cloud that might possibly cover up the goddamn sun. It turns out the stupid bike had a CD player but no iPod compatibility. God damnit, and I forgot my earbuds at Alex's. So basically, I was having to choose between several hours of "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" on loop or some Arabic trash bustin' rap like it was nobody's business. Well, it is my goddamn business because I've been listening to it for the past... How long have I been driving?

It doesn't matter.

My lips turned downwards as the chorus came on again. If I picked up any words, they were either "drunk" or "bitches". Nice to know their priorities in music.

The bike beneath me stormed along, leaving a giant blaze of sand behind. If I stopped, I would get the biggest face full of scalding hot sand. I think that's my only motivation to keep on going. I ran out of water a few miles back, and my map says I have another couple of hours left until I hit the edge of the U.A.E. Maybe I should just sorta prop myself up a bit, and just let the bike fly on its own...

I lifted my elbows up onto the handles, feeling the bike shift slightly off course with the change in pressure. The radio continued to bust rap like crazy, so I, being the massive Eminem fan that I am, roughly dislocated the antenna and tossed it to the ground, watching as it disappeared into the sand cloud.

I felt the monster shift around inside of me. It hurt just a bit, especially because I hadn't shifted in over three weeks. The transformation tickled at the very edges of my being, a slight burning sensation overcoming my extremities.

I listened on as the Kings of Leon blared through the CD speakers. More and more tracks on this endless CD passed as the road closed in to make an even thinner path.

Just ten minutes after the transformation began poking me in the side, it took all of my energy to ward off the blackness and keep the bike on track.

Fifteen minutes, and I was at the side of the road, gasping for breath as I tried to fight the transformation, or at least make it come as slowly as possible. My palms were flat on the ground, and I was coughing up the measly sandwich I brought for the trip. My throat hurt from lack of water.

There was searing pain coming on and off with every heartbeat. I could feel the skin snapping to conform to the bones, the heat crawling up my spine. I fought it back, though. The pin pricks grew fainter, until I felt them almost disappear. It took me a second to catch my breath, but the monster reeled back inch by inch, letting me slowly come back to my senses.

I'm thirsty.

I got up and looked around. Once again, there was nothing, but a small green dot down the road caught my eye.

My eyelids scrunched up as I tried to see what was on the horizon. I could faintly, very faintly make out a green and orange dot.

It looked exactly like a 7-11, but, you know, in the middle of the desert.

I picked the bike up and twisted the handle, speeding toward the mysterious dot. The worst it could be was a demon Transformer ready to kill me.

...

Let's not think about that.

Finally, after ten minutes of wondering if it was a mirage, it appeared. It looked like a small gas station. In fact, it was. The bike happily rumbled beneath me as I finally pulled onto concrete. I stepped onto the painfully hot blackness, feeling the heat through my canvas slip-ons. I approached the seemingly harmless 7-11, waiting for something to attack me. With my luck, this might be a portal into Hell.

The alarm jingled when I walked through the door. It was lit brightly with White light, but dim compared to the searing sun. It was wonderfully cold, the AC blaring freezing air into the hot ambient. Aisles of chips, sodas, and every comfort food imaginable lined the store, along with an empty cashier.

I opened up my pack. Phone, iPod... Where the hell is it?

Suddenly, a door in the back opened up, revealing a teenage girl with a similar complexion to everyone in the Middle East. Tan, with dark hair poking out from under her hood, big eyes, bigger nose... Brown eyes. Thank God. She looked straight at me, and her eyes widened a bit when she found that I didn't have my hair in a scarf.

She loosened up and perched her elbows on the cashier's desk, sighing. "Oh, thank God. You don't mind if I take his off, do you?" she said, pointing to the edges of her scarf.

"No, not at all," I responded, grabbing a beer in my hand. There was a quiet silence, before I continued. "I'm guessing you're not very religious?"

She laughed, her face lighting up as she let her dark hair down her shoulders. "Nope, I think it's a bunch of bull. All the sexism and stuff, too much. I actually went up to India to study, got some English out of that."

"That's awesome! I might be considered a high school dropout, but just some... Things, came up, so I had to go to London, and down here for..." _Quick Bella, THINK DAMNIT!_ "A mission trip!"

She noticed the small pause, but didn't make any comment. "Where are you from?"

"The States. Washington."

"Bloody cold, isn't it?"

I shrugged. "I adapt easily."

I went back to browsing the beer selection, which was very small, and after a while she started talking again. "Are you gonna buy that?" she asked, pointing to the bottle in my hand.

I nodded. "Yeah, lemme just get my wallet..." I took out a few bills and coins, placing them on a table. She eyed the wallet, but rang up the beer anyway.

"Could I see your ID? I get in huge trouble if I don't look at one, it doesn't matter to me if you're over 21 or not though, but I need to see it anyway."

I opened the wallet, looking around for an ID. I finally found one, but when I finally took one long look at it, something looked oddly familiar.

Tan, with dark hair poking out from under her hood, big, brown eyes... Bigger nose...

Son of a bitch.

I pocketed the wallet, grabbing the beer off the counter while I was at it. She frowned, before asking. "What's up?"

I shrugged it off, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. "I have to drive a motorcycle, so I should probably stay sober."

"Right. What's someone like you doing all the way out here?" she asked.

"What's a seven eleven doing in the middle of the desert?"

There was a pause, before she leaned over the counter and gave me a mock glare. "Touché. But you still haven't answered my question."

"I don't even know your name!"

"Ari. Now you can tell me."

I shrugged. "From that town way down the road down to Dubai. Maybe five or six hours back at the speed I'm travelling."

"Wow. The old town is really far away. And so is Dubai. How fast?"

"Hundred, maybe one-fifty, but I think I'll slow it down a bit. Bike looks like it's about to pop..."

She turned her head to gaze at the bike. Her lips turned down in a cringe, and she said, "Yikes. I wouldn't want to be riding that. You could come in my car, I live in the U.A.E."

I paused for a minute. "How big is your car?"

"Pretty big..." she paused, staring straight into my eyes. "Hey, you're not part of that gang, right?"

Pause.

"What gang?"

"Oh, I see. Colored contacts? Badass bite marks? Rusty rides? I'm not stupid, you guys are a huge gang. But you're all in one big place, right? Not spread out... You're not recruiting, are you?"

"Oh! No, it's a fad. See, people up there like these. The bite marks are from all the animals. Bikes, you know, just 'cause they're awesome."

"Sure. I get it."

I browsed the small chip aisle, then grabbed a random bag of Doritos and paid for the gas I was about to get. I was really wondering how a 7-11 could end up all the way out here. But then again, it probably didn't matter.

I bid my goodbyes to Ari, exiting through the front door.

Hmm. I don't remember that pump being _right _there, but okay.

I filled up Mr. Rusty, hearing the engine roar when I mounted it yet again. The handles were pushed forward, putting the bike into full speed.

There was something wrong here. It felt funny.

I paused for a moment to gather my bearings, looking at the wide map. Tracing the red lines with my fingertips, I gathered that I had made my way very far in the past twelve hours. However, I wasted four hours in the 7-11.

I know I wasn't there for four hours.

I turned around to head back into the store to check the time. Obviously, my phone was wrong. However, when I turned on my heel to head back, there was nothing. No store. No gas. No car.

It was as if it had never existed in the first place.

My senses reacted immediately, sending a slight burn through my veins as the protective changes came over me. I turned quickly around, baring my teeth and nails to the assailant.

There was no assailant. Instead, there was a rolling green wave of trees sprouting from nothing in the far ridges of the desert. Thousands of tall jungle trees sprouted from nowhere as I turned around to run. I was cornered in a tsunami of green, all overcoming the sandy desert. I shrunk down into a ball and held my hands over my head, as to not be harmed.

However, the trees stopped about five feet from me, leaving me in a small hole inside my own oasis of sand.

_What the fuck is going on?_

I recollected anything strange. I should have known better than to visit a 7-11 in the middle of the desert, with an English speaking non-religious clerk who looked exactly the person on the forged I.D. There was something stranger though, about this place. I opened my eyes to look around, and then it hit me.

This place was smothered in aura.

Come to think of it, the human didn't have an aura either. The whole side of the road was engulfed in a thick brown smokescreen of aura. The entire forest was covered in the same stuff. It was one giant illusion.

I shut my eyes, shaking my head and trying to distinguish reality from the smoke and mirrors. Inside my head, however, I heard a voice.

_They told me much about you, child, but I never imagined you to be such an…animal. _

I screamed back. "Who the fuck are you?"

_I am Zafrina. _The voice said in a bored tone. _Even though it should be my employer who interests you more._

"Well? Care to explain?" I said. In the meanwhile, I was looking for a source of aura, a concentration of energy.

_No. I'm just here to delay you, after all, we have a mortal who knows of us on the loose. You might know her. Short, brown curls, beautiful face. I might play with her before we exterminate._

Son of a bitch. She wants Rebecca.

"Come out and play, bitch, I'm ready for it," I growled. Out of the thick green leaves of the forest illusion, I caught a glimpse of brown, darker than the surrounding shades. I closed my eyes, shielding my eyes from the green but continuing to see the brown.

_I'd rather not. We have a guest approaching. Far away, but moving quickly. Loud, heavy footsteps. And the scent… Hmm. It seems our mortal has come to visit._

God damnit. A werewolf and Rebecca…

I sunk down into the sand, the leaves of the forest rustling in surprise. When they sensed me beneath the surface, the trees roots grew rapidly, trying to catch me. However, they couldn't move as quickly in the sand as I could. I easily dodged them, the thick roots grabbing at empty space as I made my way under the brown blob. When I looked up, there was no one, but the illusionists silhouette could be seen against the tower of brown. I reached up and grabbed its ankle, sending it sinking neck deep into the sand. The smell of roses and dried blood filled my nostrils. It was a vampire.

Even the vampire struggled against the sand, being unable to move anything. I kicked its head, but immediately regretted it when it sent a throbbing pain through my foot.

"Ouch, damnit," I muttered under my breath. The vampire chuckled quietly.

"What, you think this is funny?" I growled, wrapping my fingers around its thin neck. "Tell me who you work for!"

"Relax, you can open your eyes, my shield is down." It said.

When I opened my eyes, all I could see was blood red, and a disgusting, bat like face, framed by five horns, so hideous I could only close my eyes again.

The vampire laughed. "Okay, now for real, open your eyes…" it said.

"How do I know you're not fucking with my head again?"

"Can't you feel the heat of the desert? The warm breeze against your tired skin? The heat of the sun settling into your growing fur? Can't you tell? You're tired, aren't you, animal… You need rest, you need sleep…"

I took a peek. Instead of a rainforest or a monster, there was the calming glow of the moon, and the soft, rolling hills of the country. I didn't even bother anymore, I just held its neck, crushing it until I heard small cracks sounding across the granite surface.

"Who do you work for?" My voice sounded extremely drowsy.

Once again, the vampire chuckled. "Does it matter, dear one? Look at the world around you, beckoning you to sleep… Look at everything created so you could sleep. Rest your eyes, I will remain… Worry about everything later," It soothed, with a hoarse whisper.

I couldn't help but open my eyes. The world around me was indeed everything she described it to be. Biofleurescent leaves on trees lit up the dark, making the grass look a soft, sleepy purple. The moon showed brightly overhead, lighting up the forest in a soft glow. Everything seemed to be begging me to set my head down and sleep. In fact, my eyelids began to flutter shut, my body almost collapsing.

Just as my head met the soft grass, the moon turned to the sun, blinding me to the light. The grass receded into the earth, leaving the blazing sand. The trees disappeared instantly, and instead of the soft hum of crickets I was greeted with a bellowing roar coming from the giant mass of fur about a hundred feet from me.

I only had enough time to crash into the sand before a brown mass of fur crashed into the vampire. It let out a deafening scream, but the werewolf plucked it out of the sand as if there was no struggle. It let out garbled words that I couldn't hear through the sand, but regardless, the werewolf tore the vampire's head off effortlessly, watching the carcass being reduced to ashes. The brown auras instantly receded into the ashes, the werewolf's light grey aura spreading like smoke onto the floor. Only Elizabeth's aura matched the rainy sky of Forks, so I knew it was her.

I peeked my head over the sand, looking at the werewolf playing with the ashes. You could tell that the figure was feminine, mostly because the fur was so well taken care of. She lazily turned her head to me, barely acknowledging my existence before gesturing with her muzzle to the road on the horizon. A big blue pickup truck with my bike in the trunk was making its way toward us, slowly, I might add. You could see Elizabeth's tail wagging slightly, her eyes becoming more interested.

When the truck finally got to us, I saw that it was Rebecca behind the wheel. She waved to me, and parked the car next to the road and got off.

"Hey!" She yelled, watching as Elizabeth immediately approached her without hesitation. The werewolf bent her neck down and rubbed her furry head on Rebecca, nearly knocking her over. The other girl responded by petting the large wolf's head, burrowing her face in the fur. "Hey to you, too," she spoke.

I let them have their moment, but heat was uncomfortably spreading throughout my body. I looked down to see I was almost half shifted, and couldn't hold it in any longer. Instead of hurting too much, there was only a white flash of heat, and then a searing burn instead of piercing pain. I couldn't help but be grateful. It felt good to be in this skin again. I found that the sand helped null the pain, but I couldn't help but let out a groan at the pain.

The two stopped their moment to look at me, face changing from less than human to completely alien. Elizabeth was already starting to shift back, her bones audibly cracking, receding back into human shape slowly. After a moment, I was in my new skin, wearing the fur like it was a rank. I rose up out of the sand, supporting myself on my arms when the front half of my body escaped the sand. I shook the dust off my fur, and then looked at the two. There was a visible difference.

Even though I couldn't see, say, the color of Rebecca's shirt, I could see her bright, sky blue aura melting into Elizabeth's smoky aura. If the colors weren't so different, you probably couldn't have been able to tell the difference between the two. I turned my head to face the horizon we were going to drive to, seeing the faint glint of the roofs of houses far away. I knew for a fact Rebecca wouldn't have remotely seen them, and that Elizabeth was too far away to see as well. I was the only one who could see the sand gently receding into real, not fake grass. The faint smell of food reached my nostrils from almost a kilometer away. The sun hung low in the sky, illuminating the sky in a palate of greys, probably all of the colors of a sunset.

By the time I finished reflecting on the grayscale colors of the environment, Elizabeth had almost entirely turned human. Instead of the towering fifteen feet tall she was a few minutes ago, she was a manageable eight feet. She was certainly not human, with her bright eyes and long nails, but she regained some of her normal human features.

She was completely naked. But I'm sure Rebecca didn't mind.

I didn't let my mindset revert into the natural problem-solution thinking that plagued me as I shifted, but I nevertheless had to let the change overtake my vocal cords, feeling my throat constrict at the change. This rendered me unable to speak, but I could still move my fingers in basic gestures.

Rebecca approached me, her size dauntingly…short. "I'm guessing you won't need a ride anymore?"

I shook my head no, a reverberating chuckle resonating through my chest. Instincts compelled me to assert my authority, so I felt a pressure being released as I let strands of fur rise up to increase my size. Instincts also compelled Elizabeth to stand protectively behind Rebecca, holding her to her chest.

"Is this another werewolf thing?" Rebecca asked, obviously not as afraid of me as she was supposed to be.

Elizabeth spoke in broken words, her vocal cords not fully back to original form. "Yes, authority thing…"

Rebecca's brow furrowed, obviously not understanding the need for some sort of dominance. "Well, when you pass out, we'll come get you and put you in the trunk. We have a bunch of padding back there, because this isn't our first time doing this sort of thing."

I grunted in response. My muscles were aching for some sort of release, for me to run free. I took off down the road, not waiting for a response. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw them getting in the truck before sharing a chaste kiss.

My arms pounded on the sand as I propelled myself forward. I had to have been going much faster than the bike had ever gone, because the ground was flying by like it was thin air. Honestly, it felt like flying. The ease of movement the new muscles granted me must have been hundreds of times more efficient than my human bodies, enabling me to run freely. The wind swept by my fur, comfortably cooling down my overheated body. You could see the edges of the sky slowly turning to night black, contrasting with my memory of the bright blue sky caused by the illusionist vampire.

How long was I in her world?

It didn't matter. I felt free as I continued running. I could have grown wings just then. I certainly felt like it. My above average size, even as a werewolf, caused me to see things from a different perspective than others. I could see birds flying on the horizon, almost invisible because their feathers matched the night sky. Small, pale yellow lights from houses miles away. I looked behind me as my legs continued working. I could still see the truck, but it was very far away. Rebecca wouldn't have been able to see me, and even if Elizabeth could see me, my pelt matched the blackness of the dark ahead. More lights flickered on ahead of me, possibly traffic, maybe flashlights.

Suddenly, I felt a change in the sand below me. I skidded to a stop, turning around and padding back to where I hit the patch with my hand. It was grass.

I examined the blades with the tips of my fingers. The god-like speed, unnatural dexterity and inherent senses were off-set by a lack of human qualities, such as sensitivity in the hands, and advanced thinking process. I seemed to be having a good thought process so far, though, so I was probably doing something right.

I turned once again, speeding down the road, but slower this time. Before this, thinking as a werewolf came through deep-rooted instinct, a need for food, water, and shelter. However, now I was contemplating thinking itself. Something had gone wrong.

I examined my body. Everything was almost fully shifted, but not quite. There were small differences in the length of limbs, the length of nails, and instead of being able to make out the license plate on the truck and Rebecca and Elizabeth's interaction from my peripheral vision, I could only see the basics. I found my vision slightly duller, but infinitely sharper than my human vision. I would have been able to smell the exhaust and maybe even the ashes of Zafrina from here, but I wasn't able to. I had reached higher level thinking, enlightenment through the merging of the primitive but instinctual problem-solution thinking of a werewolf and the advanced thinking process of a human. It was enlightening. I was probably smarter than I was four hours ago. I probably added a couple dozen I.Q. points too.

I laughed internally. I could hear a little voice in the back of my head saying how impressive this was. It was, very, very impressive.

The weight of higher level thinking along with running several dozen miles faster than usual finally hit me. I noticed the fluidity of movement decreased, because of the strain put on my muscles. My eyelids were heavy, and I couldn't help but stop to set myself down on the grass and close my eyes.

I remembered that Rebecca and Elizabeth said they would put me in the back when they found me passed out. Even though I knew that they had, um, _experience_ handling the female body, I knew it would be pretty awkward. It would be weird seeing two naked women and an almost midget woman walking around a rural area. I reluctantly lifted my heavy body off the grass and padded backwards along the road, nearing the truck. My bones slowly shrunk back to normal, a dull ache instead of a burn following the action. I shrunk slowly from twenty, to fifteen, to about twelve feet in size.

About a minute later I hit ten feet, the headlights appeared directly in front of me. Elizabeth was asleep against Rebecca's shoulder, a blanket around them both. You could see her teeth poking out from under her lip, her hair putting a curtain around her face. Rebecca greeted me with an amused smile, watching me from behind the wheel. She carefully and gently repositioned Elizabeth so she wouldn't wake up, kissing her forehead. She opened the door to the truck and jumped off, taking a bag of clothes with her.

"Seeing as you destroyed yet another outfit," she said, in a happy tone, "Here are some of Elizabeth's clothes so you won't wake up naked. If you pass out before you get dressed, you can get dressed under the bike. We'll be in Dubai in about another twelve hours, so that should be plenty of time. We got your bag up front. Night."

I took the bag, throwing it on the back. I awkwardly swung my leg over the truck, landing in the back with a thud. Rebecca threw a blanket over the back, hitting me on the side of the head and earning a bark. She giggled, before getting back in the truck. I saw her reposition Elizabeth so her head was resting in her lap.

I covered myself with the blanket, welcoming the coldness of the night desert. The bike was next to me, its engine still warm. The best I could do was huddle into the corner and bring the blanket over me, waiting for the darkness to overtake my eyes.

**A/N: **About the progress of the story… I've pretty much written the vast majority of it Saturday. I never have enough time to sit down and write, so I just type everything on the Notes app on my iPhone. Which means, at the most, about a paragraph every time I write. And there are a lot of paragraphs in this. Once again, all standard apologies for the lateness and grammar. From here on out, it's one chapter until Bella gets a puppy and she WILL get to Dubai next chap. I know, finalllllllyyy right? I think the winning breed so far is husky, but that doesn't make much sense for a husky to be in the desert, so I might pick the next best thing.

One very last thing: I really feel like a bitch for saying this, but… I saw it being pointed out on another fic and I couldn't help but agree. Anyone who's an author can probably say they love reviews, that it means a reader cared enough to put some input, good or bad, into your story. I have 70 of you on alerts (after I put this out it might be less) so that's 70 reviews that could have been added to help get attention to CTR. Because, tell me, would you rather read a fic with 20 or 200 reviews? Even if those 70 people don't care enough to review, there's 40 of you guys who put me on favorites ( ). Those people probably care. But last chap I only got 4 out of the 40 reviewers possible… Any author could say that would probably depress them. It just gets me kind of down, like maybe you guys are reading this like it's your job… I do that sometimes, and then I regret reading in the first place. Just something I wanted to get out there, please don't hate me

Cheers,

The Lazy Werewolf


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